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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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Perjury possible in steroids scandal
Trial might focus on lies, not drugs
Aug 1, 2004
RALEIGH -- As track and field athletes and a prominent coach point fingers, the BALCO steroids scandal is evolving from a drama about Olympic eligibility into a potentially criminal matter for those who may have lied under oath or to federal agents. So far, athletes have simply been witnesses in the federal government's case against four men connected with the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a California nutritional supplement firm accused of illegally distributing steroids to elite athletes and laundering the profits. But track and field athletes knew that admitting drug use in the federal case could mean missing the Olympics and facing a possible lifetime ban if the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency learned of the admission. The pressure to protect their eligibility may have led some to risk criminal charges by making false statements. The Olympic Games open in Athens on Aug. 13. Brian H. Getz, an attorney who has represented several witnesses before the BALCO grand jury in San Francisco, has concluded that athletes who are not his clients have left themselves vulnerable. Several key figures in the BALCO case have given versions of their connection to performance-enhancing drugs that are contradicted by others. The conflict could eventually result in perjury charges. Here's a look at who's saying what: MARION JONES, five-time Olympic medalist Jones says in her new autobiography that she has never used performance-enhancing drugs, but she worried that her former coach, Trevor Graham, may have been giving them to other athletes. She testified in November before the BALCO grand jury. C.J. HUNTER, Jones' ex-husband and former shot-put world champion Hunter told federal investigators Jones used performance-enhancing drugs before, during and after the 2000 Olympics. Sometimes, he injected her with the drugs, according to an IRS agent's memo recapping the agent's interview with Hunter. Hunter also claims Graham distributed drugs to Jones and other athletes. Hunter testified before the grand jury in July. TREVOR GRAHAM, Jones' former coach, now the coach of three top sprinters on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team Graham has told federal agents he never obtained or distributed performance-enhancing drugs. He was identified in an IRS investigator's memo as the coach who revealed the existence of an undetectable steroid being distributed by BALCO. The memo says Graham called the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and later sent it a syringe containing the steroid. He said he received the syringe from Hunter, who was seeking a coaching job in his track group, Sprint Capitol. Graham has not testified before the grand jury, but has spoken with federal agents. TIM MONTGOMERY, Jones' boyfriend and 100-meter world record holder In grand jury testimony last November obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Montgomery admitted using performance-enhancing drugs obtained from BALCO. He said Graham obtained and distributed steroids to his athletes. He did not implicate Jones. "I think there are perjury cases looming," he said, "but I think it will be in connection with athletes who denied drug use before the grand jury and then are exposed as having ingested drugs." Getz said federal prosecutors instructed his clients that they would not be prosecuted for admitting drug use, but the government would take action if the witnesses lied under oath. "They sat down with us and showed us the evidence," Getz said, "They said, 'This is the calendar. This is your check. Here are the Federal Express receipts. We just want you to tell the truth and we're not going to prosecute. But if you lie, we're going to go after you.' " Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs, a spokesman for the U. S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, said he could not comment on the likelihood of perjury charges. "We're not in a position to comment on the abstract," he said. "We can't suggest that somebody might be charged or should be charged." But Jacobs said his office will bring perjury charges when the evidence supports it. "We do perjury cases," he said. "I'm looking at an indictment in an [unrelated] case that is a perjury case." The BALCO evidence prompted the anti-doping agency to take action against five U.S. track athletes. Sprinter Kelli White accepted a two-year ban when confronted with the evidence. Sprinters Michelle Collins, Tim Montgomery, Chryste Gaines and Alvin Harrison are facing lifetime bans based on BALCO records. Arbitration panels will hear their cases. None of the four will be on the U.S. Olympic team. Collins withdrew from the U.S. Olympic trials; Montgomery, Gaines and Harrison failed to qualify at the trials in July. The anti-doping agency is investigating Marion Jones' connection to BALCO, but has taken no action against the five-time Olympic medalist. Jones, a former UNC track and basketball star, lives near Chapel HIll with Montgomery and their year-old child. She has qualified to compete in the long jump and may be selected for relays. Robert Weisberg, a Stanford University law professor who teaches criminal law and procedure, said the federal government has often turned to perjury and obstruction charges when it encounters false statements or efforts to cover up a crime. He noted that the Martha Stewart case changed from an investigation into insider trading to a case based on obstructing justice and lying to investigators about a well-timed stock sale. "In the world of white-collar crime, what clearly happens is people are being prosecuted for what they say or do wrong in the course of the investigation," Weisberg said. "If the government were to treat the athletes' situation the way it treats the white-collar situations, boy, it could have a field day, no pun intended." The BALCO case appears to be fertile ground for prosecuting false statements. Leaked evidence and testimony have contradicted the public statements of athletes and other parties in the case. Troy Ellerman, a lawyer representing BALCO owner Victor Conte Jr., told the San Jose Mercury News that athletes' credibility has become so strained it seems the case is being assembled "one lying idiot at a time." Who is telling the truth may not become clear, if ever, until the BALCO trial gets under way, probably in the fall. But clearly some who have testified or have been interviewed by federal agents have given conflicting statements. The most prominent instance involves Jones and her ex-husband, retired shot-putter C.J. Hunter, now an assistant strength coach for N.C. State's football program. Both testified before the BALCO grand jury, and their testimony remains secret. Jones has steadfastly maintained that she never used performance-enhancing drugs. But Hunter said she used banned substances before, during and after the 2000 Olympics, according to a memo written by an Internal Revenue Service investigator who interviewed Hunter on June 8 in Raleigh. The contents of the memo were disclosed last week by the San Francisco Chronicle. Jones' lawyer, Joseph Burton, attacked Hunter's claim as an effort by a bitter ex-husband trying to "exact his revenge by telling lies to the government." Hunter's lawyer, Russell W. DeMent Jr. of Raleigh, said "it's fair to say" some athletes are not telling the truth in the BALCO case, but he says his client is telling the truth. "To the extent that [prosecutors] believe someone has told them a lie or perjured themselves before the grand jury, I'm sure they'll investigate it," DeMent said. "I'm confident they would do their job." In his IRS interview, Hunter described Jones' former coach, Trevor Graham of Raleigh, as providing performance-enhancing drugs to Jones and other athletes. Montgomery has reportedly given grand jury testimony implicating Graham, but not Jones. Graham's lawyer, Joseph E. Zeszotarski, Jr., said Hunter's version was untrue and part of a web of conflicting statements by various parties in the case. "Who knows what to believe in this soap opera anymore?" he said. "Mr. Hunter has reason to say such things, but they have nothing to do with the truth." Graham, according to documents obtained by the Chronicle, told the IRS investigators he never distributed drugs to Jones or any of his athletes. "Trevor has done nothing wrong, and the claims of wrongdoing attributed to him are completely false," Zeszotarski said. Paul Haagen, a Duke law professor who specializes in sports law, said the anti-doping agency's use of BALCO evidence to get at drug use that testing won't show might also encourage lying. Previously, the agency relied only on test results, but now it's willing to make decisions based on circumstantial evidence. "There are much greater problems with assessing credibility, and it's not clear that they've thought through these problems very well," Haagen said. He said an angry ex-spouse, a rival competitor or others with an incentive to reveal an athlete's drug use, might also have incentive to lie in order to derail the athlete's career. Jacobs, of the U.S. Attorney's Office, said both perjury and making false statements to a federal agent carry maximum penalties of up to five years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release. |
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