A Tale of Doping: NYT says Sammy Sosa tested positive in 2003
To hear The New York Times tell it, Sammy Sosa is among the players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the 2003 professional baseball season. As the Times’ Michael S. Schmidt reports:
In a recent interview with ESPN Deportes, Sosa, 40, said he would “calmly wait” for his induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame, for which he will become eligible in 2013. But his 2003 positive test, when he played for the Chicago Cubs, may seriously damage his chances of gaining entry to the Hall, a fate encountered by McGwire, who has attracted relatively little support from voters in his first three years on the ballot.
The 2003 positive test could also create legal troubles for Sosa because he testified under oath before Congress at a public hearing in 2005 that he had “never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs.”
Exactly what performance-enhancing drug Sosa tested positive for is unclear, as the article’s sources either don’t know or won’t say. But this revelation puts Sosa in the company of Alex Rodriguez, who was identified by Sports Illustrated’s Selena Roberts (a former NY Times reporter) and David Epstein as having tested positive for two anabolic steroids the same year. At the time, testing was supposed to be confidential and the records were supposed to be destroyed. Under an agreement between the Major League Players Association and Major League Baseball, further testing, with penalties for those who tested positive, would only occur in the following years if more than five percent of the players tested in 2003 came back positive for banned substances. Because that happened, baseball players are now subjected to drug testing several times throughout the season, though not nearly as often as athletes in other sports.
It’s interesting that with the Sosa story, it’s yet another case of anonymous sources offering up vague information. While we might all assume that he tested positive for some sort of steroid or perhaps one of Balco’s magic potions, the reality is that we don’t know what Sosa’s test results from 2003 actually showed.
Sosa, who no longer plays professionally, may have a long wait before he gets into the Hall of Fame. But that may be the least of his worries. Back in March 2005, he appeared before a Congress committee investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in major league baseball.
Sosa testified that “everything” he had heard “about steroids and human growth hormones is that they are bad for you, even lethal” and that he “would never put anything dangerous like that” in his body.
“To be clear,” he added, “I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything.”
Right now, Sammy Sosa may well be wondering if he will meet the same fate as Roger Clemens. That is, to be investigated for lying to Congress. Clemens’ case is still in the hands of a federal grand jury. Sammy Sosa’s fate may wind up in similar hands. It all depends on whether the House committee that conducted the 2005 hearings decides to ask the Justice Department to investigate Sosa’s testimony. Hard to say exactly what will happen in that regard. (Hat tip to Pommi, who sent me a link that pointed in the direction of the NY Times story.)
Update: The Associated Press is now reporting that House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will look into the possibility that Sammy Sosa gave misleading testimony when he appeared before a congressional committee in 2005. Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY), the chairman of the committee, released a statement Wednesday saying that he will determine the appropriate steps following a review of the matter.
Another Tale of Doping: Tyler Hamilton banned for 8 years
It could have been worse. That would be the Cliffs Notes summary of the US Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to ban Tyler Hamilton, the 2004 Olympic Time Trial gold medalist, for eight years as a result of his positive test for DHEA earlier this year. DHEA, a testosterone precursor, was part of a natural remedy for depression that Hamilton admitted to taking shortly before he failed an anti-doping screening in February. The ban effectively puts an end to Hamilton’s career, although he’s already retired from the sport. Because of the ban, Hamilton can’t be involved with organized competitive cycling — professional or amateur — until 2017. But it could have been worse, USADA could have issued a lifetime ban, instead.
It seems an awfully steep price to pay, even if Hamilton does acknowledge knowing that DHEA was in the supplement he took. Not that his depression should give him a pass, but it doesn’t sound as though there was enough of the banned substance to give him any real performance boost. Still, Hamilton knew it was wrong to take the pills, and the rules are the rules.This being Hamilton’s second offense, and the World Anti-Doping Code being what it is, USADA may not have been in the position to cut the cyclist any slack. Nor does it sound like they were inclined to do so. As the Denver Post reports:
It is “an assurance that he is penalized for what would have been the remainder of his competitive cycling career,” Tygart said.
Let’s be realistic about this, even a four-year ban would have effectively ended Hamilton’s career. Hamilton gets the longer eight-year ban due to changes in the World Anti-Doping Code that came into effect at the beginning of 2009. In an article by Les Clarke at CyclingNews.com, Hamilton responds to the news:
“The eight-year suspension is unfortunate and disheartening. At this time, however, my focus remains on my mother, my family, battling my depression and getting better. This has been an extremely difficult and trying period, but I am determined to get through it,” said Hamilton.
Chris Manderson, Hamilton’s attorney, added:
“The penalty is no different than it would be for an athlete who intentionally used testosterone in competition. USADA could not have imposed a lesser penalty even if it had been understanding of Tyler’s situation and wanted to impose a sanction more fitting to Tyler’s lack of performance-enhancing intent. He would have no realistic chance of reducing the penalty in an arbitration hearing.
“Although we believe the sanction is exceptionally harsh and completely disproportional to the transgression, Tyler has chosen to focus on getting better instead of fighting a pointless battle against the anti-doping regime.”
That’s a fair point to make, there is no room for leeway in handing out the penalty. No room to take into account the circumstances under which Hamilton’s positive test occurred. While his decision to take the herbal supplement containing DHEA was foolish, to say the least, it sounds an awful lot like someone trying to self-medicate (again, a foolish thing to do) rather than someone who was hell-bent on cheating. One has to believe that if Hamilton were really bent on using DHEA to boost performance, his sample would have been positively overflowing with the stuff. Given the way the system works, Hamilton has wisely chosen not to fight. There would be no victory, but there would be plenty of expense. Pretty much a lose-lose proposition.
Meanwhile, Tyler Hamilton needs to figure out what he’s going to do in the future. He’s not going to be able to earn a living connected to competitive cycling for the next eight years. It will be interesting to see where the next chapter in the life of Tyler Hamilton leads. One clue to where Hamilton may be headed can be found in the CyclingNews.com article, where he says:
Moving forward, I am going to put a lot of my time and energy towards helping others who face severe depression overcome the obstacles this illness brings.
Best of luck to him. What a shame that Hamilton’s cycling career had to end the way it did. (Hat tip to Whareagle, who pointed me to the CyclingNews.com article, and to Ted, a reader from the Roaring Fork Valley, for the link to the Denver Post article.)
Guess who’s coming to time trial?
So what’s it like when a seven-time Tour de France winner and one of his pals with a whole bunch of his own palmares shows up for a local time trial in the middle of Colorado?
“It’s kind of like the Rolling Stones showing up and playing in your backyard,” said Mitch Hyra, one of the organizers of the Western Slope Omnium, held this past weekend in and around Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Indeed, a couple of rock stars of the cycling world showed up at Friday’s Leg Breaker Time Trial.
While Hyra and his fellow organizer Bill Sommers kept the appearance by Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer under wraps, Armstrong let his million-plus Twitter followers in on the “secret” by sending out the following tweet last Friday:
Had a good ride w/ @levi_leipheimer this AM. Doing a TT tonight in Carbondale. +/- 10 miles
Armstrong’s announcement appeared to bring out the fans, or at least the fans who were clued in. As the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported:
A healthy crowd lined the shoulders of County Road 109 as Armstrong and Leipheimer rolled up to the start-finish line — seemingly out of nowhere — and quickly took their turns racing the clock.
“I think they were down at the start-finish line for maybe two or three minutes,” Bill Sommers said. “They blew right out.”
And they lingered only briefly after their ride, shaking a few hands and signing a few autographs before heading back toward Carbondale.
On of the few people to get autographs was Sommers’ 12-year-old son Max, who told the Glenwood Post Independent, “It was so fun … It’s awesome. It’s like the best day of my life.” Pretty cool to see a youngster excited about professional cycling.
I haven’t set foot in the Roaring Fork Valley in way too long. Sure would have been fun to be standing alongside the road and see Armstrong and Leipheimer speed by, and to take in the scenery. Especially if there was a view of Mount Sopris to be had from the course. (Hat tip again to Ted, who provided me with the link to the Glenwood Post Independent’s story.)
