[Cliff Hamm]

ederal law enforcement officials have alerted a number of world-class athletes to expect grand jury subpoenas in the case against Canadian physician Anthony Galea, three sources familiar with the investigation tell SI.com.

While it is unclear which athletes and how many will be subpoenaed, it is an indication that the multi-agency, federal investigation of Galea is progressing. According to a December story in The New York Times, Galea's medical assistant told investigators that he had administered performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes. The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Food and Drug Administration investigators are working together on the case. Galea has stated that he did not provide performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. According to two sources familiar with the investigation, law enforcement officials have been in touch with NFL players who have used Galea's services.

Galea, who is based in Toronto, faces charges in his native Canada of conspiring to smuggle human growth hormone (HGH) and the drug Actovegin into the U.S., conspiracy to smuggle prohibited goods into Canada, unlawfully selling Actovegin, and smuggling goods into Canada in violation of the Customs Act. The doctor's client list is elite; it includes Tiger Woods, U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, Broncos quarterback Chris Simms, former Browns running back Jamal Lewis, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and Donovan Bailey of Canada, who won the 100 meters at the 1996 Olympics. These athletes have acknowledged being treated by Galea but deny receiving any performance-enhancing drugs from him. Known as a progressive if not unorthodox physician, Galea developed a loyal following among athletes for his use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, a legal procedure thought to potentially speed recovery from injury.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/more/02/27/hgh.investigation/index.html?cnn=yes&hpt=T2#ixzz0gnHFlEEs

[John Moore II]

ederal law enforcement officials have alerted a number of world-class athletes to expect grand jury subpoenas in the case against Canadian physician Anthony Galea, three sources familiar with the investigation tell SI.com.

While it is unclear which athletes and how many will be subpoenaed, it is an indication that the multi-agency, federal investigation of Galea is progressing. According to a December story in The New York Times, Galea's medical assistant told investigators that he had administered performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes. The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Food and Drug Administration investigators are working together on the case. Galea has stated that he did not provide performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. According to two sources familiar with the investigation, law enforcement officials have been in touch with NFL players who have used Galea's services.

Galea, who is based in Toronto, faces charges in his native Canada of conspiring to smuggle human growth hormone (HGH) and the drug Actovegin into the U.S., conspiracy to smuggle prohibited goods into Canada, unlawfully selling Actovegin, and smuggling goods into Canada in violation of the Customs Act. The doctor's client list is elite; it includes Tiger Woods, U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, Broncos quarterback Chris Simms, former Browns running back Jamal Lewis, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and Donovan Bailey of Canada, who won the 100 meters at the 1996 Olympics. These athletes have acknowledged being treated by Galea but deny receiving any performance-enhancing drugs from him. Known as a progressive if not unorthodox physician, Galea developed a loyal following among athletes for his use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, a legal procedure thought to potentially speed recovery from injury.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/more/02/27/hgh.investigation/index.html?cnn=yes&hpt=T2#ixzz0gnHFlEEs

This is stupid. Just another chapter in the modern day Salem Witch Hunt. That's all this whole mess is, just one great big witch hunt.

[TEPaul]

John K:

Is it stupid and a witch hunt?

If what was reported in that first post is true, and it says some of it came from an article in the NY Times which is OK at checking its sources, that seems to be a ton of Federal Agencies and such interested in this.

I have no idea what's going on here but if the Feds make a case on some doctor administering performance enhancing drugs to famous athletes and Woods gets seriously caught up in it he will have a ton more hurt to deal with and explain than just multiple infidelities with his wife.

Certainly the first shoe that dropped on Woods was huge in the world and the world's press but if this one drops on him too and sticks I'd say he'd be very seriously stomped and so would his career. I don't have any idea how his mea culpa recently will play out in the long run but if he has to do it again over performance enhancing drugs (after publicly denying it in his first mea culpa) well I don't know----that would be some wall to climb in my book.

I guess stranger things have happened to famous athletes and they've overcome it somehow but not much stranger.

[PThomas]

agreed Tom

if this doctor  and/or someone else broke the law why shouldnt they be punished?

[Jim_Coleman]

    What makes no sense here is why Tiger would use a known bad guy to administer a blood platelet procedure which is being done by hundreds, if not thousands, of docs around the country.  He may never get caught having done anything wrong , but why use a guy with a bad reputation for a routine procedure?  For a guy who was supposed to be so smart, Tiger's really a pretty dumb guy.  Or he's dirty.

[Gary Slatter]

ederal law enforcement officials have alerted a number of world-class athletes to expect grand jury subpoenas in the case against Canadian physician Anthony Galea, three sources familiar with the investigation tell SI.com.

While it is unclear which athletes and how many will be subpoenaed, it is an indication that the multi-agency, federal investigation of Galea is progressing. According to a December story in The New York Times, Galea's medical assistant told investigators that he had administered performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes. The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Food and Drug Administration investigators are working together on the case. Galea has stated that he did not provide performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. According to two sources familiar with the investigation, law enforcement officials have been in touch with NFL players who have used Galea's services.

Galea, who is based in Toronto, faces charges in his native Canada of conspiring to smuggle human growth hormone (HGH) and the drug Actovegin into the U.S., conspiracy to smuggle prohibited goods into Canada, unlawfully selling Actovegin, and smuggling goods into Canada in violation of the Customs Act. The doctor's client list is elite; it includes Tiger Woods, U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, Broncos quarterback Chris Simms, former Browns running back Jamal Lewis, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and Donovan Bailey of Canada, who won the 100 meters at the 1996 Olympics. These athletes have acknowledged being treated by Galea but deny receiving any performance-enhancing drugs from him. Known as a progressive if not unorthodox physician, Galea developed a loyal following among athletes for his use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, a legal procedure thought to potentially speed recovery from injury.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/more/02/27/hgh.investigation/index.html?cnn=yes&hpt=T2#ixzz0gnHFlEEs

This is stupid. Just another chapter in the modern day Salem Witch Hunt. That's all this whole mess is, just one great big witch hunt.

IF this is stupid, please give back  BEN JOHNSON 's  gold medal !   

[Jud_T]

a lot of the guys who've used banned substances did so initially to overcome injuries.  I definitely wouldn't write this off until all the details are in....As for Tiger's judgement, well we know how that's going..... 

[PCCraig]

I wouldn't be shocked if Tiger was getting a little medical "help" long before his knee surgery, as his body changes haven't looked entirely natural to me. But from everything I read Tiger only used this Dr. to speed his knee rehab.

The real question to ask is if Tiger becomes a proven steriod user, would that really make any difference now to the majority of his followers? Considering how far he has fallen would it really surprise and shock people? Would anyone really care?

[JSlonis]

Pat,

I think it would definitely make a difference to his fans and the general public.  He's advocated for drug testing on tour and has said repeatedly he's clean. I think a lot of golf fans will give him a pass on his off course activities but would absolutely NOT if it came to light that he used preformance enhancing drugs.

[TEPaul]

"He may never get caught having done anything wrong , but why use a guy with a bad reputation for a routine procedure?  For a guy who was supposed to be so smart, Tiger's really a pretty dumb guy."


Jim:

Is Tiger a dumb guy for some of the things he's done in the past? Even by his own admission during his recent televised mea culpa it would seem he may think so himself or at least he felt the need to say so publicly. I remind you that he mentioned himself he felt he had gotten to the point where he just felt he had become entitled to certain things but now he realizes that was a real mistake to do or think. He said so himself.

I've always liked Tiger a lot but it always occured to me, always, that he was pretty much his own man in the way he thought and acted. For an example of that I give you the documented story that when Tiger went to see the doctor after his knee operation, and the doctor told him it was his strong recommendation that he stay on crutches right through the US Open, Tiger told the friend he came with to get his shoes and socks because they were going to get out of there. Obviously he did not like to hear what his own doctor told him and he was going to do it his way.

Of course the upshot of that was him winning the US Open at Torrey limping around the golf course in clear pain with the potential for real and perhaps permanent injury.

[Anthony Gray]

ederal law enforcement officials have alerted a number of world-class athletes to expect grand jury subpoenas in the case against Canadian physician Anthony Galea, three sources familiar with the investigation tell SI.com.

While it is unclear which athletes and how many will be subpoenaed, it is an indication that the multi-agency, federal investigation of Galea is progressing. According to a December story in The New York Times, Galea's medical assistant told investigators that he had administered performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes. The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Food and Drug Administration investigators are working together on the case. Galea has stated that he did not provide performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. According to two sources familiar with the investigation, law enforcement officials have been in touch with NFL players who have used Galea's services.

Galea, who is based in Toronto, faces charges in his native Canada of conspiring to smuggle human growth hormone (HGH) and the drug Actovegin into the U.S., conspiracy to smuggle prohibited goods into Canada, unlawfully selling Actovegin, and smuggling goods into Canada in violation of the Customs Act. The doctor's client list is elite; it includes Tiger Woods, U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, Broncos quarterback Chris Simms, former Browns running back Jamal Lewis, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and Donovan Bailey of Canada, who won the 100 meters at the 1996 Olympics. These athletes have acknowledged being treated by Galea but deny receiving any performance-enhancing drugs from him. Known as a progressive if not unorthodox physician, Galea developed a loyal following among athletes for his use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, a legal procedure thought to potentially speed recovery from injury.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/more/02/27/hgh.investigation/index.html?cnn=yes&hpt=T2#ixzz0gnHFlEEs

This is stupid. Just another chapter in the modern day Salem Witch Hunt. That's all this whole mess is, just one great big witch hunt.

IF this is stupid, please give back  BEN JOHNSON 's  gold medal !   

  Great perspective.Oh Canada...my native land...Is a hot dog at the turn a performance enhancer? I use performance enhancers all the time. Test me please......GUILTY.

  Anthony

 

[Cliff Hamm]

Coincidently the first story I came accross this morning: 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BBN_METS_REYES?SITE=RIPRJ&SECTION=SPORTS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

For those who don't feel like clicking essentially says Jose Reyes has meet with Dr. Galea.  They use Tiger's quote about rumors that he used performance enhancing drugs and he says they were "completely and utterly false."

Anyone else think this is deja vu all over again - "I did not have sex with that woman"; "I have never used steroids. Period," (Palmerio ); and then too many to mention.

I thought Tiger was good at his 'press conference'.  I am also gullible.  My gut feeling is he is dirty....we will see if the truth comes out...

[JLahrman]

a lot of the guys who've used banned substances did so initially to overcome injuries.  I definitely wouldn't write this off until all the details are in....As for Tiger's judgement, well we know how that's going.....  

Even if athletes used banned substances "just" to overcome injuries shouldn't get anybody off the hook.  As if good health and no nagging injuries aren't the biggest advantages an athlete can have!

[Ben Sims]

This is a nice bit of humor on a Sunday afternoon.  The hits just keep on coming! 

Now before I even start, I don't need any of you to reply to me with a "he who casts the first stone..." stuff.  I get it, forgive and forget.  Many great men have had problems.  Bill Clinton, Larry King, even Henry the VIII!! 

But the next time I hear how Tiger is a "guy's guy" and anyone would "love to have a beer and watch football with him", I'm going to toss cookies.  Why?  Because none of the guys I play golf, drink beer, and watch football with have a yacht, a Gulfstream, platelet transfusions, a swedish bikini model wife, 14 mistresses, a prescription drug problem, handlers, and a billion George Washington's.  Sorry, but the dude's not normal.  Any argument to the contrary is blind and overly generalized. 

He's dirty, he's got more skeleton's than the Whistler Sliding Centre, and of course, he's got problems (which I hope he overcomes, honest to God).  Give me Boo, Goydos, Rocco, and even Phil for beer and football. 

But here we are on another front, and once again, Tiger is shown to be--like so many bigger than life celebs and athletes--to be less than perfect.

[Jay Flemma]

a lot of the guys who've used banned substances did so initially to overcome injuries.  I definitely wouldn't write this off until all the details are in....As for Tiger's judgement, well we know how that's going..... 

"I was just coming back from injury," is no excuse.  Besides...how do we sort out the liars?

[Matt_Ward]

Cliff:

Before everyone jumps off the cliff (no pun intended) of the "let's dump on Tiger now" routine, how bout there be some real evidence that Tiger is guilty of something. Guilt by association is nothing more than a smear campaign -- when Tiger is implicated by someone of credibility or there is some sort of smoking gun that has some real heft to it -- then the rest of this garbage is nothing more that rank speculation and accusations gone amok.

Ben:

Geeze thanks for telling us all that Tiger's less than perfect. So was Babe Ruth -- Mickey Mantle, et al.  Go through the long history of sportsmen with the gifts they possess and you'll likely find other just as compelling / sad accounts of their lives too. The media loves to build these folks up as Zeus-like beings -- and then revel in going the other direction to maximize their position. Just wait for the resurrection stories tied to Tiiger.

[Ben Sims]

Guilt by association is nothing more than a smear campaign...then the rest of this garbage is nothing more that rank speculation and accusations gone amok.

The media loves to build these folks up as Zeus-like beings

Heavy is the head Matt.  And make no mistake, Tiger wore--probably still wears--the crown.

Being the face of golf has consequences.  He and those that handle him cunningly cultivated a perception of invincibility.  So any perception of weakness or wrongdoing will be cultivated just as cunningly by those who can.  That's the way of the world for the uber rich and powerful, and he knew that.  Or at least should have.

So any relation to someone that took part in questionable practices should have been avoided, whether he took part in any of it or not.

EDIT--As the kids say, "don't hate the player, hate the game."

[Kalen Braley]

Ben,

The saying is actually:

Don't hate the playa, hate the game!

No doubt its a;; speculation at this point, but then again, so was Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire way back when. 

[Mike_Young]

What is not being said is the role of IMG and Galea with these athletes.....there is a lot at stake here....

[Ben Sims]

Ben,

The saying is actually:

Don't hate the playa, hate the game!

No doubt its a;; speculation at this point, but then again, so was Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire way back when. 

If I've learned anything by reading rhetoric on this site and on various sports outlets, I've learned that if you use colloquialism and humor to get your point across, it better be solid.

Unsat on my part. 

Thanks Kalen, that's what I meant. 

[JR Potts]

a lot of the guys who've used banned substances did so initially to overcome injuries.  I definitely wouldn't write this off until all the details are in....As for Tiger's judgement, well we know how that's going..... 

"I was just coming back from injury," is no excuse.  Besides...how do we sort out the liars?

But let's not forget.  Until very recently, HGH was not a banned substance and was not an illegal substance.  If he took it before it was banned, so what?  He would them be in the same company and thousands of people recovering from injuries....legally.

[Matt_Ward]

Ben:

Wilt Chamberlain and Babe Ruth make Tiger look like a virgin when held to their various hijinks and escapades. Ditto for Mickey Mantle and any number of other athletes. The idea that people are "shocked" by Tiger's flings is akin to when Claude Rains leaves the casino in Casablanca and is "shocked" to hear gambling is going on in Rick's and just as quickly pockets the proceeds from his kickback with the same facility.

All of these self-rightous types who pontificate from the sideline about "consequences." The only victims in this situation are his wife and kids. He doesn't owe me or anyone else an apology.

You talk about his handlers and the image they put forward -- hey Ben, wake up and smell the coffee -- Madison Avenue has been doing that for years. Did you think the situation originated with Tiger? Tiger was never loved by many people -- particularly those who put knives in his back so quickly as this situation unfolded. Tiger is respected for his golf -- pure and simple. No doubt Tiger has likely believed -- since his time on the Mike Douglas show at age 2, that he was special and outside the realm that most mere mortals occupy. He now understands that -- or so he said at his non-press event in PGA HQ in Ponte Vedra.

Ben, when I buy a Sinantra record -- I could care less what Frank did outside away from his music - I can draw apart the distinctions because I realize that people are human and they will make mistakes. I respect Tiger for his golf and I believe most people see him and respect him as a golfer that has no peer -- the rest of his life is merely a sidebar to that element for me and countless others. If Tiger existed in the era of Snead and Hogan or even in more modern times with the likes of Palmer and Nicklaus -- the idea of sleeping with different women would have been handled in the same manner as it was done then. Under the surface there are plenty of people who have never liked being "handled" in the way Tiger has treated them and as a result when the blank hit the fan as it did in this matter he took on a major slap of payback. I can only hope Tiger will learn from this situation and be a stronger and better person from it.

 

[Kalen Braley]

Matt,

I agree partially with what you say in that he doesn't really owe anyone but his wife an apology...and yes we tune in to watch him play the game and stalk and assainate his competitors, but the big problem is he has zero credibility, even he admitted as much in his press release.

So if he was running in the wrong pack back then by seeing this doctor, even if he says he never used anything illegal, he's hardly one to believe at the moment.  Crazy thing is he's turning more and more into Barry Bonds with his denials, isolation, refusal to talk to the press, etc.  And no doubt if you look at the guy he has beefed up a ton from his college days. 

[PThomas]

random thoughts:

Tiger lives in a different world than Babe Ruth...the fact that he was caught by the Inquirer - i think they got nominated for  a Pulitzer! - well, he should have known that he was under the microscope

like Nixon claimed others did what he did and Kennedy did what Clinton did - doesnt matter:  just cause they were caught and the others werent doesnt mean what they did was ok

i think a big part of Woods' problem is that he fooled aroudn with SO MANY women and mulitple times with many/all? of them....if it had been just 1 woman MAYBE be would have been more forgiving...but c'mon....

and he was a role model to many..doeesnt matter if he wanted to be or not, he was...so i'm sure he did let a lot of kids down

and his hypocrisy:  that photo of him with the family with the dogs licking him.....what a farce..

and how about his last interview before the shit hit the fan, where he said his family was most important

i know many simply want to admire him for his golf...but i just realized thatt in the gand scheme of things that doesnt matter too much, that me and many others should worry less about that than what kind of people we are

rightly or wrongly, i wish Jordan would have used his tremendous influece for some cause or two..like handgun control or safety, for ex, after his dad was killed

Tiger is just as big:  why didnt he/doesnt he use his worldwide status to REALLY get involved in some causes...i know he has his foudnation, but frankly that doesnt get much publicity...what a guy like him or Jordan doesnt become the LEAD spokespeson for some cause like AIDS or cancer, really get involved, etc.....

i know they dont have to but people of their stature could make SUCH a big difference ...

[George Pazin]

There are legitimate medical uses for plenty of "banned" substances. I'm sure many on here remember the outrage by some over Tiger using painkillers during the 2008 U S Open. Well, I used Percocet and then Vicodin for a couple months after my knee surgery (not to play golf, just to lessen the pain). I had prescriptions that my surgeon wrote me - he even bumped me down without discussing it with me, and then eventually cut me off. I didn't question him, just relied on his sound advice.

If I were an Olympic athlete, my actions might have gotten me banned. Doesn't make the use any less legitimate or even remotely illegal.

As for why Tiger would use this guy when many others are doing the same thing, it could have simply been the recommendation of a friend who had success with the procedure. When you are a billionaire, you have access to medical care that might just go beyond your neighborhood doctor...

Lastly, there are plenty of people with more impressive physiques that never touched anything banned. Some people are just genetically gifted. Doesn't make them cheaters.

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