🔗 Share this article

Victor Conte, who devised a plan to provide stealthy performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes such as baseball icons Giambi and Bonds and Olympic track champion Jones decades ago, has passed away. His age was 75.

Official Inquiry and Criminal Cases

The federal government's inquiry regarding an additional venture set up by him, the Bay Area lab, resulted in the guilty verdicts of Jones, elite sprint cyclist Tammy Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, along with various support personnel and professionals.

Public Statements and Prison Time

Conte, who completed four months in federal prison for illegal drug sales, talked publicly about his famous former clients. He was featured on television to state he had observed decorated Olympian Marion Jones self-administer with HGH, but consistently avoided implicating Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Sport's Official Review

The investigation resulted in the volume titled Game of Shadows. Just days following the release of the book in 2006, the sport's chief Selig brought on political figure George Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

He admitted he provided steroids referred to as “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their application to numerous professional sportspeople, including Giambi, a star player, as per the investigation.

Employing banned drugs poses a serious threat to the fairness of the sport,” the findings emphasized. “Widespread use by athletes of such substances unfairly disadvantages the those who refuse to cheat who avoid them and leads to skepticism about the accuracy of sporting achievements.”

The report noted the problems didn’t develop overnight. He said everyone involved in the sport in the previous twenty years – including leaders, club officials, the players’ association and athletes themselves – shared some responsibility for what he labeled the doping period.

How It Began

The federal investigation into the laboratory began with a tax agent searching the business refuse. He ended up pleading guilty to two of the 42 charges against him in 2005 ahead of a court case. Half a dozen of the defendants sentenced were caught deceiving the court.

Further Legal Actions

Bonds’ personal trainer Anderson, admitted guilt to steroid distribution charges arising from his involvement with Balco. He received a sentence to a quarter year in prison and an equal period of restricted movement.

Bonds' Legal Battles

Bonds was accused of providing false statements to a federal jury about using banned substances and stood trial in the early 2010s. Prosecutors dropped the charges after several years when the government decided not to challenge an overturned obstruction of justice conviction to the federal apex court.

A seven-time National League MVP and star performer, he retired after the 2007 campaign with 762 homers, breaking the milestone of Aaron's total that Aaron established from 1954-76. Bonds denied knowingly using banned substances but has failed to gain entry to the Hall of Fame.

Later Years

Conte stated in an interview in a 2010 interview that “competitors do cheat to succeed, but the officials and lawyers cheat to win, too.” He wondered whether the results in such proceedings merited the work.

Following his prison term, Conte resumed operations in 2007 by rebooting a health products venture he had founded previously called SNAC System. He located it in the very same place that was home to his former lab in Burlingame.

Unapologetic Views

Conte stayed unrepentant about his key part in doling out designer steroids to top sports stars. He maintained he simply helped “level the playing field” in a arena already rife with rule-breakers.

Critical Perspectives

To a WADA member, a then-member of the global anti-doping body, he may as well have been selling cocaine or heroin. “You are talking about blatant drug dealing. It's about using drugs in breach of national statutes,” Wadler said in 2007. “It's not a good deed and this is not some do-gooding. It's illegal sales.”