Barry Bonds Admitted He Used Substances: Report
San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds told a federal grand jury last year that he used a clear substance and a cream supplied by his trainer, but denied knowing they were steroids, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.
Bonds testified last December in the trial of a San Francisco Bay-area company known as BALCO, which has been indicted for allegedly supplying performance-enhancing drugs to high-profile professional athletes.
Bonds testified that trainer Greg Anderson gave him the substances during the 2003 baseball season, but he said he thought they were a nutritional supplement and a rubbing balm for arthritis, the Chronicle reported. In his grand jury testimony, Bonds denied prosecutors' allegations that he used steroids and human growth hormone, the newspaper said.
In a September 2003 raid on Anderson's home, investigators said they found evidence that Bonds used banned drugs, the Chronicle reported. Anderson was indicted in connection with the BALCO case last February on charges of distributing steroids.
Friday's Chronicle article capped a busy week in the BALCO case, in which the newspaper also reported that New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi admitted before the grand jury last year that he used growth hormone and steroids.
In a related development, the founder of BALCO told ABC News in an interview to be aired Friday night that performance-enhancing drug use is rampant among U.S. athletes. "My guess is more than 80 percent are taking some sort of a stimulant before each and every game," Victor Conte was quoted as saying by United Press International.
Conte compared evading anti-doping rules to "taking candy from a baby," UPI said.
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