Sports Scandals

by Laura Finley; Jeffrey J. Fountain Peter Finley

  BALCO altered the cumulative sports conscious, sending a clear message about the extent to which athletes will go to excel, and the uphill battle that drug testers face in trying to catch them. Dr. Don Catlin, whose UCLA lab used the soiled syringe to discover the previously undetectable steroid THG, said the scandal was as big as they come, adding, ''It has totally changed the landscape of drugs in sports.''16

  There were numerous impacts of the steroid scandal that were aimed at slowing the spread of performance-enhancing drug use. Major League Baseball enacted new and tougher drug-testing policies and penalties. Then, fearing that Congress would intervene because the policies were criticized by antidoping organizations as laughably weak, MLB created even newer policies with more testing and more severe sanctions for failed tests. Congress acted to increase the potential prison time for steroid dealers. State high school athletic associations across the country launched programs to educate students about the dangers of steroid use.

  The BALCO scandal did little to slow Conte in his highly successful business ventures as a supplements guru. At his sentencing he had claimed he would ''share what I have learned about the rampant use of drugs at the elite level of sport and more specifically, to explain exactly how elite athletes routinely beat the existing anti-doping programs.''17 To date he has not followed through on that pledge. He continued to believe that beating drug tests was easy to do and that cheating was widespread. Regarding the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Conte said he guessed that half of the 11,000 athletes used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

  After serving his brief sentence, Conte returned to work, renaming his business Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC). He sells a product called ZMA to professional athletes including Barry Bonds, as well as to bodybuilders, combat sports fighters, and Oakland Raiders and Texas Rangers personnel. The zinc and magnesium supplement is touted as a natural muscle builder. Within a year of his release from a federal work camp, Conte was driving a $170,000 silver Bentley and claiming he had a million-dollar annual income.

  FLOYD LANDIS STRIPPED OF TOUR DE FRANCE TITLE

  In 2007 American cyclist Floyd Landis became the first man in the 105-year history of the Tour de France to win the race and then lose the title for a doping offense. The 2006 champion, who won with an incredible and unlikely solo effort on the epic seventeenth stage, tested positive for an abnormal testosterone-to-epitestosterone level, and subsequently was found to have synthetic testosterone in his system. After the USADA found him guilty, Landis sought an arbitration hearing. The case with the USADA was a soap opera, rife with accusations of shoddy lab work and witness intimidation. In the end, two of three arbitrators held up the results that showed Landis's comeback victory was drug assisted, although all three arbitrators agreed that the lab work that produced the positive tests was suspect and not done to World Anti-Doping Agency rules. Only a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) can save his crown. Barring an unlikely reversal, Landis will forfeit his title and face a two-year ban from the sport.

  Landis had shocked the cycling world when he regained his form overnight during the 2006 Tour, after collapsing miserably on the sixteenth stage over mountainous terrain. Although he managed to finish, he went from race leader to eleventh place, over eight minutes back. Every contender and team director wrote him off as finished in the race for the individual title. Thus the shock to all when Landis stormed back better than ever the next day, attacking the field 125 kilometers from the finish, holding his advantage to a solo victory and riding right back into contention. He went on to an improbable victory in what was considered one of the strangest Tours ever. The story took a decided turn for the worse when Landis's team, Phonak, announced that he had failed a drug test. Many experts, who doubted that his Stage 17 exploit was possible without some help, were not surprised by the announcement.

  Landis proclaimed his innocence and offered a variety of explanations, most of which seemed far-fetched, at best. In addition to claiming he had naturally high testosterone, which apparently had never caused a problem with testing in the past, he also blamed the testosterone spike on his drinking habits. He claimed to have binged on Jack Daniels the night before his epic ride into history. When asked directly if he had ever doped, he gave the less-than-convincing response, ''I'm going to say 'no' to that.''

  Landis committed over $2 million to clearing his name. Much of the money was donated by fans that paid for the opportunity to ride their bikes and have a meal with Landis. He fought an uphill battle in the arbitration against the USADA, which was 34-0 in such cases, prompting Landis to call the system a ''kangaroo court.''18 Much of the testimony dealt with the quality of the testing and whether specific protocols were followed by the lab, with each side calling experts to buoy its position.

  The testimony became explosive when former Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, the first American winner of the event, took the witness stand.

  He claimed that in a conversation with Landis he had suggested that living with a secret was a difficult and awful thing to do, sharing that he had been sexually abused by a relative as a young boy. He claimed that Landis responded to his admonition to confess by saying, ''What good would it do?

  If I did, it would destroy a lot of my friends and hurt a lot of people.''19

  Landis shared the story of LeMond's sexual abuse with friends and posted an open letter to LeMond on an Internet site in which he threatened to ''out'' LeMond if he ''ever opens his mouth again and the name Floyd comes out.''20

  A friend of Landis, Will Geoghegan, even called LeMond the night before his scheduled testimony and threatened to expose his abuse at the arbitration hearing. LeMond, infuriated, filed a police report and told the story during his testimony. Landis fired Geoghegan, who had acted as his business manager, but the damage to Landis's reputation and his case was clear and profound.

  In September 2007, nearly four months after the hearing, the arbitrators released their eighty-four-page decision. Two of three arbitrators were convinced Landis had doped his way to victory. ''Today's ruling is a victory for all clean athletes and everyone who values fair and honest competition,'' said USADA CEO Travis Tygart.21 Landis said, ''I am innocent and we proved I am innocent.''22 At the time of writing he had appealed the result to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

  In an open letter to fans that appeared on his Web site, Landis claimed, ''If any good has come of this, we have shown that the anti-doping system is corrupt, inefficient and unfair.'' He continued, ''I still have hope that the system can, and will be, changed so that no other athlete has to suffer through this process only to be denied a clean chance at justice.''23

  For many, the case was just more evidence that all professional sports are infested with performance-enhancing substances. Some believe cycling is no more than a three-ring circus of doped-up freaks, and some fans have denounced the sport until they see evidence that its athletes are competing clean. They might have a long wait ahead of them.

  BARRY BONDS, HOME RUN KING (WITH AN ASTERISK)

  Barry Bonds found life on the road more challenging as he approached the all-time home run record and fans made their feelings clear. Courtesy of AP Photo/Steven Senne.

  In the history of sports reporting, it is likely that the word asterisk never appeared in the sports pages more than on the morning of Wednesday, August 9, 2007. The night before, at 8:51 Pacific Time, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hammered a pitch 435 feet into a throng of crazed fans. He rounded the bases in his signature home run trot for the 756th time in his twenty-three-year career. He had eclipsed the home run record of 755, held for thirty-three years by baseball legend Hank Aaron. The sellout crowd of 43,154 rose to its feet. Most cheered. Many booed. The heat cranked up on the debate of the asterisk.

  To his chagrin, Bonds had, over the preceding years, become the poster boy for baseball's steroid era, a time when the sport lacked adequate drug testing, and suspicion ran rampant that the sport's
biggest sluggers were the product of blatant steroid abuse. Perhaps no moment, aside from Bonds breaking the single-season home run record, more directly forced baseball fans to decide how much they trusted the players and yearned for a clean game. Columnist Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun wrote that the moment ''polarized a country that isn't sure whether to celebrate a new hallowed sports number or mourn the passing of the torch from a respected baseball legend to one mired in controversy.''24

  Columnists and fans around the country called for the new record to be denoted with an asterisk, indicating that it was set under circumstances that, at best, could be called dubious. Even baseball commissioner Bud Selig struggled with the new record. He attended the game in which Bonds tied the record, but literally jammed his hands into his pockets rather than applaud the effort. As Bonds broke the record, Selig was reportedly, and perhaps ironically, meeting with former senator George Mitchell, who was heading baseball's investigation into performance enhancing drug use in the sport. When asked why he didn't acknowledge the hitter's accomplishments along with those of other players, like Tony Gwinn and Cal Ripken Jr., Selig responded, ''They've never done anything to embarrass the game.''25

  Bonds had been a great player throughout his career. However, his physical transformation at an age when most players are past their peak was stunning. He had been a lanky player, highly skilled, but not necessarily a powerhouse.

  He walked into the Giants' clubhouse in 2000 as a transformed man, rippling with new muscles. How he acquired his new body was documented by San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams in their book Game of Shadows. They made the case that Bonds had used steroids for several years, beginning in 1998, including the secret drugs called the cream and the clear from BALCO. Their two-year investigation cited court documents, including leaked grand jury testimony from the BALCO case, and interviews with over 200 sources. The authors claimed that Bonds used human growth hormone and steroids, including one used to fatten cattle. Bonds never sued the authors for their claim. Particularly curious was that his trainer, Greg Anderson, who secured the drugs from BALCO, languished in prison for over a year as opposed to testify about whether Bonds used steroids. In fact, Anderson was jailed three separate times on contempt charges but remained tight lipped. Even Bonds's longtime mistress claimed she saw him inject steroids. In 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle published leaked grand jury testimony from the BALCO case. In it, slugger Jason Giambi admitted to using steroids that he obtained from Anderson. Bonds said that he thought the substances that prosecutors defined as the cream and the clear were flaxseed oil and arthritic balm.

  As Bonds transformed before the very eyes of baseball fans everywhere, his stats improved as well. He had hit 292 home runs in his first ten years in the league, and then, as most players would normally decline with age, he bulked up and blasted 464 home runs in the next eleven-plus seasons, including the single-season record of 73 in 2001.

  Given the evidence against Bonds, it was a wonder that many fans still supported him in the home run chase. An ESPN/ABC News poll found that 52 percent of fans hoped he would not break the record and 73 percent thought he had used steroids. Race played a factor in opinions, as whites overwhelmingly hoped he would not break the record and most black respondents hoped he would.

  As the asterisk debate raged, newspapers ran attention-grabbing headlines. The New York Post ran ''756'' with the numbers formed with syringes. The Philadelphia Daily News ran a 756 with an asterisk. The Daily News front page screamed ''King of Shame,'' and the Boston Herald 's back page headline was ''King Con.''26 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Gene Collier offered up some new nicknames for the new home run king, including the Great Scambino and the Colossus of the Cream and the Clear.27

  Hank Aaron, for his part, was a class act throughout. He kept a low profile as Bonds approached his record, but vowed not to be there to share the moment. It was a surprise to many that he recorded a congratulatory speech that was played at the ballpark moments after Bonds rounded the bases.

  Whether the congratulation was heartfelt was debatable. One columnist wrote that the speech ''had all the sincerity of a hostage video.''28 Bonds also received congratulations from President George W. Bush, which hardly was congruent with his State of the Union address in which he called for eradication of steroids from professional sports.

  Legendary sports commentator Bob Costas said, ''There's no denying Bonds' greatness as a player. There is certainly a reasonable basis to doubt the authenticity of his late-career achievements.''29 Bonds said, ''This record is not tainted at all, at all, period.''30

  The historic home run ball sold at auction for a staggering $752,467 to fashion designer Mark Ecko. He created a Web site that allowed fans to vote on the fate of the ball. Visitors to the site selected from donating the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, as it was, donating it after branding it with an asterisk, or putting it on a rocket and blasting it into space. After launching the site, Ecko cast the first vote. ''I voted for the asterisk,'' he said.31 Over 10 million votes were cast. The results suggested that the public held significant doubts about the accomplishment, as two-thirds of voters wanted the ball either branded or sent into space. The winning choice was to brand the ball with an asterisk and send it to Cooperstown, with 47 percent of the votes. Representatives of the Hall of Fame acknowledged that they would accept the branded ball.

  At the time of writing, Barry Bonds had been indicted for lying to a grand jury regarding his steroid use and obstructing justice in the process. He had entered a plea of not guilty. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to two-and-a-half years in prison. The outcome will have importance beyond Bonds, as it may represent a new era in holding athletes accountable for their personal decisions. Although there is hope the case will be a harbinger of major systemic change, many say this is unlikely.

  Chapter 3

  GAMBLING, GAME-FIXING, AND SHAVING POINTS

  Millions of Americans gamble. From the weekly purchase of lottery tickets, to the yearly bus trip to Biloxi, to the annual Super Bowl and NCAA basketball tournament office pools, many types of gambling are generally considered innocuous. Most gamblers keep their activity under control, devoting only a set amount of money they are comfortable losing. Others, however, cannot control their gambling, and the end result can be devastating.

  Gambling takes on a whole different tone when it involves athletes or coaches betting on sports, because many times they are betting against their own teams. More than just impacting personal integrity or finances, when players or coaches gamble it puts the integrity of the entire team and league on the line. Gambling scandals involving athletes and coaches take a number of forms, running the gamut from point shaving (winning a game but allowing the opposition to keep the score close) to flat-out losing on purpose. Although referees have always been accused of making unfair calls by bitter fans, recently accusations of widespread gambling by referees have emerged as well (and in at least one case have been proven). Some of the nation's most celebrated athletes, including Michael Jordan and Pete Rose, have been embroiled in gambling scandals.

  1877 LOUISVILLE GRAYS-GAME FIXING

  Throughout the history of competitive sports in America, gamblers have sought to influence the outcome of games for their own profit. Ensuring an honest and uncorrupted game has been one of the biggest challenges facing sport. From the beginning of the development of modern baseball in the 1840s and 1850s, crooked players made it nearly impossible to portray the sport as clean and honest entertainment. Once the National League came into existence in 1876, the effort by the league to ''restore integrity to the game'' was apparent. The first scandal for professional baseball, as we know it today, happened in 1877 and involved the Louisville Grays.

  The upstart league began play in 1877 with six teams. From the outset the league faced challenges to its longevity, including the Cincinnati team disbanding after starting 3-16 and the Hartford team failin
g to draw home crowds. Cincinnati later reorganized and played out a schedule of exhibition games, while Hartford moved its home games to Brooklyn. By mid-August, the Louisville Grays stood alone in first place and seemed to be pulling away from the rest of the fledgling league. Boston trailed by three-and-a-half games with about one-third of the sixty-game schedule remaining.

  The Grays departed for a road trip in mid August, which would be fraught with suspicious losses and leave the team trailing Boston, ending its hopes of winning the pennant. The Grays won none of their seven official games and only one of three in an exhibition series with lowly Cincinnati, by that time winners of only nine of forty-six games. Over the span of games, the team committed over five errors per game, although the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that number was close to the average for the league. Still, something seemed amiss with the team.

  The on-field performance of the team during the road trip was not the only issue raising eyebrows. As the losing streak was ongoing, the vice president of the Grays, Charles E. Chase, received an anonymous telegram from Hoboken, New Jersey, which, at the time, was known as a gambling haven for baseball betting pools. The telegram informed Chase that the Grays were underdogs in their next game against Hartford, and that ''it was clear something was radically wrong with the players on the Grays'' and the telegram warned him to ''watch your men.''1 The Grays lost the game to Hartford. Chase soon received another telegram that was more precise about the second game against Hartford, saying it would be a ''crooked affair'' and the ''Grays will lose.'' The Grays did in fact lose the second game against Hartford, the final official game of the road trip. The loss was the result of errors at critical times in the ball game.