February 15, 200521 yr Report: Agent says he warned baseball Associated Press Posted: 10 minutes ago NEW YORK (AP) - An FBI agent says federal investigators warned Major League Baseball about 10 years ago that some of its players were using steroids, but baseball executives failed to act on the information, the Daily News reported. In Tuesday's editions, the Daily News reported that a special agent in Ann Arbor, Mich., told baseball security chief Kevin Hallinan that Jose Canseco and other players were using illegal anabolic steroids. "I alerted Major League Baseball back in the time when we had a case, that Canseco was a heavy user and that they should be aware of it," Special Agent Greg Stejskal told the Daily News. "I spoke to the people in their security office, Hallinan was one of the people I spoke to." Stejskal also told the newspaper there wasn't much baseball could do at the time since MLB and the players' union didn't have steroid testing program or disciplinary actions in place until 2002. Baseball officials denied they were told of steroid use, and Hallinan told the Daily News, "It did not happen. Not with this guy, not with anyone else." The agent told the paper that the FBI's investigation in the 1990s centered in Michigan and dealt with weightlifters and bodybuilders, but that the probe spread to California, Florida, Canada and Mexico. "There's very little question the use of steroids was very widespread in baseball," Stejskal told the newspaper. "And Major League Baseball, in effect, they didn't sanction it, but they certainly looked the other way." The report comes just after the release of Canseco's book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big," in which he details his steroid use and accuses several former teammates of using them, too. MLB recently adopted a tougher steroid-testing program that will suspend first-time offenders for 10 days and randomly test players year-round. Last week, Yankees star Jason Giambi made his first public comments since it was reported he told a federal grand jury in 2003 that he took steroids for at least three seasons. "When I went into that grand jury, I told the truth," he said. The New York Times reported that in December 2001, when the Yankees were drawing up Giambi's free-agent contract, they included a reference to steroid use in an initial draft. The Times said agent Arn Tellem asked that all references to steroids be dropped, and that the Yankees agreed. This thing is getting ugly, and Jose is becoming more credible. link
February 15, 200521 yr Author hmm, why no one was arrested 10 years ago? 686278[/snapback] I think most people would agree they don't want politics or government messing with our sports. The FBI warned MLB and MLB balked that the chance of babysitting itself.
February 15, 200521 yr talk about a double standard. It is the FBI responsibility to enforce the Federal Law. The FBI looks really bad here as well. You don't let a bunch of greedy millionaires police themselves.
February 15, 200521 yr Author talk about a double standard. It is the FBI responsibility to enforce the Federal Law. The FBI looks really bad here as well. You don't let a bunch of greedy millionaires police themselves. 686290[/snapback] Why would the FBI want to bring down one of the biggest money making sports? I am sure that would go over well with the American people. The FBI never went directly to players to arrest them but they have taken down distributors. When the FBI investigated Rose, they also tried to grill some of the people around him on selling 'roids. Also look at the Balco thing. Who really wants to be the person who takes on MLB? Cancesco has nothing to lose so he is doing it for now.
February 15, 200521 yr I'm just saying this is strange and looks like Monday morning QBing (which anyone can do). Probably they didn't have anything solid to go after those guys.
February 15, 200521 yr I believe because it's a professional circuit, they can watch themselves unless the government says so otherwise. Kind of like why the Dept of Transportation doesn't investigate Nascar crashes.
February 15, 200521 yr totaly different guys. And for the record, I don't care if the FBI takes actions or not. I think this story is not true and someone is looking to get their 15 minutes of fame. that's all
February 15, 200521 yr i want to do illegal activity and then police myself. i like that idea. 686435[/snapback] :lol So true..... And yes, it gets worse and worse for captain retard Bud Selig and his group of owners "who had no idea steroid use was so rampant"
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