December 3, 2004

Giambi Admits Steroid Use… And Now Bonds Says, “I Didn’t Know”

It was one year ago this month that Jason Giambi and a handful of others testified to the Federal Grand Jury in the BALCO hearings in San Francisco.  Addressing the media following his testimony, and addressing the media throughout the season, Giambi stated that he NEVER used performance-enhancing drugs. 

This past season, Giambi suffered from numerous illnesses – first there was the parasite, and the other was a non-cancerous tumor located in the pituitary gland. He looked fatigued, withdrawn, and just not right. Something more was wrong with Giambi, something that Giambi wasn’t willing to discuss with the public.

On July 29^th, I wrote a column entitled, “Could Giambi Be Suffering From Steroid Withdrawal.”  In this column I went on to write how Giambi’s so-called illnesses all seem to resemble that of steroid withdrawal. I was going on facts from various medical sites, doctor’s statements and through my own knowledge from my days of various health classes in college as a Physical Education Major.  I actually doubted myself numerous times, but the bottom line was reality –everything surrounding Giambi’s illness pointed to steroid withdrawal…

In Thursday’s edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, the whole truth and nothing but the truth was revealed… the Chronicle reviewed the grand jury testimony of Jason Giambi – Jason Giambi admitted injecting himself with human growth hormones in 2003, and he admitted that he obtained several different steroids… from Barry Bonds personal trainer – Greg Anderson, one of the four men indicted by the grand jury investigating BALCO.  This testimony contradicts Giambi’s public statements that he never used steroids…

For the past twelve months, Giambi and his doctors – have contradicted themselves by keeping this information hush-hush. I’m sure they kept things quiet because it clearly would have implied steroid use, and that he was one of the players in the mix of 5 percent that had failed their drug test.

In the Chronicle’s report, it stated that in front of the grand jury, the Giambi brothers were instructed that they had been granted immunity from prosecution if they told the truth but faced perjury charges if they lied.

Both Jason and his brother Jeremy testified that they had used steroids before they met Anderson or had even heard of BALCO… and were drawn to Anderson because of Barry Bonds success.  In his testimony, Jason Giambi told the grand jury he had used the injectable steroid Deca Durabolin in 2001, his last year with Oakland after obtaining the drug from a source at a Gold’s Gym in Las Vegas.

Giambi said he wasn't worried about testing positive for testosterone because he had only taken the drug during the off-season, and Anderson assured him it would be out of his system before he was called for a steroid test.

In 2003, Jason Giambi was bothered by patellar tendinitis in his left knee…, he was able to hit 41 homeruns for the Yankees, but hit just .250 – in his testimony, Giambi said he had used several different steroids obtained from Anderson during the season – Doctors say that tendinitis is a common problem for players who use steroids, Giambi says he stopped taking the drugs sometime in August, as his knee wasn’t getting any better, and didn’t want to cause any further damage.

Last season, 2004 was without a doubt the worst season in Giambi’s career.  He played in only 80 games, missing games early in the season from a parasite, which eventually was diagnosed as an intestinal parasite in June. One month later, he’s diagnosed with a benign tumor reportedly in the pituitary gland and is placed on the 15-day DL.  With his health seemly no better than in July or August, Giambi is left off the post-season roster.

Among the drugs the Giambi’s admitted to taking is Clomid, a female fertility drug which can exacerbate tumors on the pituitary gland. They also tested positive for Deca Durabolin, a steroid which causes shrinking of testes and has been linked to prostate cancer. They may also have taken Depo-Testosterone, which causes an enlarging of the breasts and baldness in men.

And how about this one… The Giambi’s also admitted to following a calendar by which they took three different pills (identified by color: “white,” “yellow” and “orange”) about which they knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT… “I don't know what they were.” “He didn't really explain them. He just had told me to take them. And it had – he explained it has something to do with the system. He just said to take it in conjunction with all the stuff...” and admitted to using several different performance-enhancers – including a batch of injectable testosterone, “the cream” and “the clear.”

Jeremy Giambi testified that he knew testosterone was a steroid but that Anderson had described “the clear” and “the cream” only as undetectable alternatives to steroids. “For all I knew, it could have been baby lotion,” Jeremy Giambi told the grand jury.

Fans might be angered over Giambi’s admissions, but come on here – we all saw the warning signs that hinted of his steroid use.  We all were amazed when he showed up to spring training in 2004 much thinner, only to find out that he lost only “4 pounds,” due to a “new workout regimen.”  But, in all honesty, we saw it coming once the BALCO probe grew deeper and deeper, with more and more athletes from the sports world being linked… but it seemed to all come together for me when Gary Sheffield told Sports Illustrated that he used something called “the cream.”

It’s a sad day for baseball, it’s even a sadder day for Giambi… a hero to so many kids, did the unthinkable – he lied to himself, his friends and family and to the fans…  The fans, that help pay his salary, that buy his t-shirts, his jerseys, and his collectibles.  It’s sad to see what he did to himself… that he allowed someone else to play “god” with his body… It’s sad to say that Jason Giambi’s career could very well be over – all because of steroids.

Because of his testimony and that he used steroids, the Yankees could possibly terminate his $120-million contract and allow MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to discipline him. While there are penalties for for positive drug tests and criminal convictions, admission of use is not addressed, which could give Commissioner Selig a “loophole” where he could punish Giambi. 

The Yankees still owe Giambi $82-million, but they could get out of it by arguing that his use of steroids violated his contract, which would allow the Yankees to terminate it, violated the guarantee language of the deal, allowing them to release him at a fraction of the remaining money; or caused him to be injured or unavailable, meaning he was paid at a time when he was at less than full strength.

“We have met with the commissioner's office today and will continue to work with them to obtain all of the facts in this matter,” Yankees president Randy Levine said. “We have made no decisions and will keep all of our options open.”

As the Jason Giambi saga continues, we’ve been enlightened to Friday’s San Francisco Chronicle continuing BALCO testimony review – on this day the Chronicle reveals that in Barry Bonds testimony, he admitted that he used a clear substance and cream given to him by trainer Greg Anderson during the 2003 season… he said he didn’t know they were steroids. According to Bonds, the trainer told him the substances were the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and a pain-relieving balm for the player's arthritis.

According to the Bonds transcript, the prosecutors confronted Bonds with documents allegedly detailing the steroids he used – “the cream,” “the clear,” human growth hormone, Depo-Testosterone, insulin and a drug for female infertility that can be used to mask steroid use.

In his testimony, Bonds denied knowing that the drugs were steroids, he said he had no knowledge of the so-called “doping-calendars,” he said he never discussed steroids with his trainer, and he never asked about the products he was given…  he did say he was certain, that Greg Anderson, a childhood friend and now his personal trainer wouldn’t give him illegal substances without his knowledge.

According to Bonds, Anderson had only given him legal drugs to treat his arthritis and fatigue, and even brought the substances into the Giants clubhouse, where Bonds would use them in front of his teammates. “It was in the ballpark... in front of everybody,” Bonds testified. “I mean, all the reporters, my teammates. I mean, they all saw it. I didn't hide it.”  Bonds did testify that the products didn’t ease his suffering, and that he eventually stopped using them.

If you'd like to comment on this column, or just share your thoughts and opinions, drop Althea an email at aip@nutzworld.com

If you like this column, Althea also writes The Rays Corner baseball column; Lightning Nuts and Bolts and NHL Roundup hockey columns while also serving as the VP of Sports for NutzWorld.