2006 Baseball Steroids Investigation
On March 29, 2006, ESPN learned that former Senator and Disney chairman George J. Mitchell would head an investigation into past steroid use by Major League Baseball players, including San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds. Mitchell was appointed by baseball commissioner Bud Selig in the wake of controversy over the book Game of Shadows, which chronicles alleged extensive use of performance-enhancing drugs, including several different types of steroids and human growth hormones Bonds allegedly had taken. Selig did not refer to Bonds by name in announcing the investigation, and many past and present players will be investigated. Mitchell took on a role similar to that of John Dowd, who investigated Pete Rose's alleged gambling in the late 1980s. However, Selig acknowledged that the book, by way of calling attention to the issue, was in part responsible for the league's decision to commission an independent investigation. A report of the investigation released on December 13, 2007 named more than 80 former and current baseball players.
On June 6, 2006, Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Jason Grimsley's home was searched by federal agents. He later admitted to using human growth hormone, steroids, and amphetamines. According to court documents, Grimsley failed a baseball drug test in 2003 and allegedly named other current and former players who also used drugs. On June 7, 2006 he was released by the Diamondbacks, reportedly at his own request.
Read more about this topic: Banned Substances In Baseball In The United States
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“Ethnic life in the United States has become a sort of contest like baseball in which the blacks are always the Chicago Cubs.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)