06-24-2004, 01:07 PM
hursday, June 24, 2004
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Montgomery testified last year that he used human growth hormone and an undetectable steroid, and that the man at the center of a Bay Area steroid ring told him he supplied Barry Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs, the San Francisco Chronicle has reported.
The newspaper's report Thursday includes direct quotes from Montgomery's testimony to the federal grand jury that investigated the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. The Chronicle did not say how it obtained the information; it is illegal to give grand jury testimony to the media.
Montgomery, the world's fastest man, was told Wednesday that he faces a lifetime ban from the sport despite his repeated public denials that he has used any performance-enhancing drugs.
His lawyer lashed out at the leak of his secret testimony. Montgomery was among dozens of elite athletes -- including Bonds, Jason Giambi and Montgomery's girlfriend, Olympian Marion Jones -- who answered the grand jury's questions under threat of perjury.
"No one can legally or legitimately have Tim's grand jury testimony, and if they think they have it, I would like to see it," attorney Cristina Arguedas told the Chronicle. "Otherwise, there's no way I can respond to these blind allegations, and I'm not going to comment on it."
Montgomery reportedly testified Nov. 6, 2003, that in 2001, BALCO founder Victor Conte gave him weekly doses of human growth hormone and a substance called "the clear'' -- which Montgomery referred to as a "magic potion.''
Montgomery said he was told "the clear" was not an illegal steroid, but that he understood that HGH is a banned substance. Montgomery set a world record of 9.78 seconds in the 100 meters in 2002.
Montgomery also gave second-hand testimony implicating Bonds, the San Francisco Giants' slugger who has hit the third most homers in baseball history. According to the Chronicle, prosecutor Jeff Nedrow asked Montgomery about Conte's dealings with Bonds.
"Did he say he gave any steroids, Winstrol or any of the other ones to Mr. Bonds?" Nedrow asked.
"Yes, he did," Montgomery replied.
"Did he say specifically which ones?"
"Winstrol," Montgomery said.
Winstrol is the same steroid Ben Johnson used before being disqualified in the 1988 Olympics. Montgomery testified that Conte told him Bonds switched to an undetectable steroid in 2003 when baseball introduced its drug policy.
"I have reason to have serious doubts about the accuracy of all that," Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains, told the Chronicle. "I doubt very much that Conte would be talking about anything he's giving to anybody."
A message was left by The Associated Press at Rains' office late Wednesday night.
"The clear'' was later determined to be THG, a previously undetectable steroid at the center of the BALCO scandal, which now threatens to keep some of America's top sprinters out of the Athens Olympics.
Montgomery, Michelle Collins, Alvin Harrison and Chryste Gaines have been accused by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of steroid use. The agency, based in Colorado Springs, told Montgomery that it is seeking to ban him from the sport for the rest of his life, two sources familiar with the USADA's warning letter told the AP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
"USADA's leap to judgment on the flimsiest so-called 'evidence' confirms our worst suspicions -- that it is resorting to McCarthy-like tactics in its efforts to ruin Tim's reputation," Montgomery's attorney, Howard Jacobs, said in a statement Wednesday.
USADA does not have access to the grand jury testimony but is using documents obtained in the investigation to implicate athletes without positive drug tests.
Collins, the 2003 world indoor champion at 200 meters and potential medalist in the Athens Games, also was notified USADA would seek to ban her for life, according to her lawyer, Brian Getz, who said he plans to appeal.
Three-time gold medalist Jones, the mother of Montgomery's son, also is under investigation by USADA but has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Montgomery was not asked at the grand jury about whether Jones used illegal steroids, the Chronicle reported.
Montgomery did testify that Conte began giving him banned substances soon after the 2000 Olympics, the newspaper reported.
"How many times did he give you human growth hormone?" Nedrow asked Montgomery at one point.
"He would send four vials a month," Montgomery answered.
Montgomery told Nedrow he had followed the regimen for "maybe eight months." He said he got no benefit from "the clear" and split with Conte in September 2001 over a money dispute. He broke the world record the following year.
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Montgomery testified last year that he used human growth hormone and an undetectable steroid, and that the man at the center of a Bay Area steroid ring told him he supplied Barry Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs, the San Francisco Chronicle has reported.
The newspaper's report Thursday includes direct quotes from Montgomery's testimony to the federal grand jury that investigated the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. The Chronicle did not say how it obtained the information; it is illegal to give grand jury testimony to the media.
Montgomery, the world's fastest man, was told Wednesday that he faces a lifetime ban from the sport despite his repeated public denials that he has used any performance-enhancing drugs.
His lawyer lashed out at the leak of his secret testimony. Montgomery was among dozens of elite athletes -- including Bonds, Jason Giambi and Montgomery's girlfriend, Olympian Marion Jones -- who answered the grand jury's questions under threat of perjury.
"No one can legally or legitimately have Tim's grand jury testimony, and if they think they have it, I would like to see it," attorney Cristina Arguedas told the Chronicle. "Otherwise, there's no way I can respond to these blind allegations, and I'm not going to comment on it."
Montgomery reportedly testified Nov. 6, 2003, that in 2001, BALCO founder Victor Conte gave him weekly doses of human growth hormone and a substance called "the clear'' -- which Montgomery referred to as a "magic potion.''
Montgomery said he was told "the clear" was not an illegal steroid, but that he understood that HGH is a banned substance. Montgomery set a world record of 9.78 seconds in the 100 meters in 2002.
Montgomery also gave second-hand testimony implicating Bonds, the San Francisco Giants' slugger who has hit the third most homers in baseball history. According to the Chronicle, prosecutor Jeff Nedrow asked Montgomery about Conte's dealings with Bonds.
"Did he say he gave any steroids, Winstrol or any of the other ones to Mr. Bonds?" Nedrow asked.
"Yes, he did," Montgomery replied.
"Did he say specifically which ones?"
"Winstrol," Montgomery said.
Winstrol is the same steroid Ben Johnson used before being disqualified in the 1988 Olympics. Montgomery testified that Conte told him Bonds switched to an undetectable steroid in 2003 when baseball introduced its drug policy.
"I have reason to have serious doubts about the accuracy of all that," Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains, told the Chronicle. "I doubt very much that Conte would be talking about anything he's giving to anybody."
A message was left by The Associated Press at Rains' office late Wednesday night.
"The clear'' was later determined to be THG, a previously undetectable steroid at the center of the BALCO scandal, which now threatens to keep some of America's top sprinters out of the Athens Olympics.
Montgomery, Michelle Collins, Alvin Harrison and Chryste Gaines have been accused by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of steroid use. The agency, based in Colorado Springs, told Montgomery that it is seeking to ban him from the sport for the rest of his life, two sources familiar with the USADA's warning letter told the AP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
"USADA's leap to judgment on the flimsiest so-called 'evidence' confirms our worst suspicions -- that it is resorting to McCarthy-like tactics in its efforts to ruin Tim's reputation," Montgomery's attorney, Howard Jacobs, said in a statement Wednesday.
USADA does not have access to the grand jury testimony but is using documents obtained in the investigation to implicate athletes without positive drug tests.
Collins, the 2003 world indoor champion at 200 meters and potential medalist in the Athens Games, also was notified USADA would seek to ban her for life, according to her lawyer, Brian Getz, who said he plans to appeal.
Three-time gold medalist Jones, the mother of Montgomery's son, also is under investigation by USADA but has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Montgomery was not asked at the grand jury about whether Jones used illegal steroids, the Chronicle reported.
Montgomery did testify that Conte began giving him banned substances soon after the 2000 Olympics, the newspaper reported.
"How many times did he give you human growth hormone?" Nedrow asked Montgomery at one point.
"He would send four vials a month," Montgomery answered.
Montgomery told Nedrow he had followed the regimen for "maybe eight months." He said he got no benefit from "the clear" and split with Conte in September 2001 over a money dispute. He broke the world record the following year.