[外電] Rangers' Byrd using products from Conte
Rangers' Byrd using products from Conte
Texas outfielder says BALCO founder 'keeps me right'
By John Schlegel and T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com
06/25/09 1:50 AM ET
Rangers center fielder Marlon Byrd said Wednesday he has been using
supplements supplied by Victor Conte, the founder and former president of the
Bay Area Co-Operative Laboratory (BALCO) and a central figure in the ongoing
story surrounding performance-enhancing drugs in baseball and other sports.
According to a report on Yahoo! Sports, Byrd reached out to Conte in January
2008 and has been using "a variety of pills and powders" supplied by Conte's
new company for more than a year.
"He keeps me right," Byrd said when asked after Wednesday's game about the
relationship. "He keeps me healthy. I'm sick and tired of going to GNC and
taking a chance. There are guys going into GNC and getting 50-game
suspensions."
Byrd also said that the substances he uses are approved by Major League
Baseball and NSF Sport, the international public health company that works
with MLB to provide lists of approved substances. "Everything I use is
approved," he said. "Everything."
MLB officials have not commented on whether the substances are approved.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the club has a clear policy when it
comes to supplements or other products players take.
"I haven't talked to Marlon but we provide and recommend only NSF approved
products and we recommend our players take those," Daniels said. "We prefer
all our players to do that. Ultimately they are held accountable to the MLB
testing system and not taking only NSF approved products is at your own risk."
Conte became a national figure after BALCO was raided by federal authorities
in September 2003. Conte later served four months in prison and four months
of home confinement after pleading guilty to money laundering and a steroid
distribution charge, and dozens of other charges were dropped as part of his
plea deal. All-time Major League home run leader Barry Bonds is currently on
trial for making false statements to a grand jury that nearly five years ago
investigated BALCO for money laundering and the illicit sales of
performance-enhancing drugs. Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield are among other
baseball players who testified during grand jury proceedings relating to
BALCO.
Conte's business is now called SNAC, which stands for Scientific Nutrition
for Advanced Conditioning. The Yahoo article said Byrd contacted Conte after
seeing his company's Web site, and began receiving numerous SNAC products,
having some sent to the Rangers' Spring Training facility in Surprise, Ariz.,
as well as the team's clubhouse in Arlington.
"Marlon was working with a doctor, doing blood testing, a fairly
sophisticated regimen," Conte told Yahoo. "He faxed me the blood results and
nutritional program. I told him, 'You are taking a bite of this and a bite of
that. I'll teach you how to sit down and have a feast.'"
Byrd, 31, is batting .283 with four homers and 32 RBIs this season, his third
with the Rangers and seventh full season in the Majors.
John Schlegel is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, The Grind.
MLB.com reporter T.R. Sullivan contributed to this report. This story was not
subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 114.41.169.169
Rangers 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章