World Series Steroids Phillies JC Romero suspended

Philadelphia Phillies reliever JC Romero (he won 2 World Series games) is going to be serving a 50-game MLB ban/suspension without pay (he will lose $1.25 million) for violating the performance enhancer policy.

The reason why this story has been so hot this week is because 0) He took the substance before it was banned. 1) Some baseball fans outside of Philly see this as tainting the World Series championship 2) Romero has been protesting this, and said he followed all the proper channels including having the team trainer send a sample for testing 3) It shows that players are still taking enhancements, even with all the press and legal issues involved 4) It exposed how confused a player can be, and how hard it is to know which substances are legal, even with official lists 5) It showed how there is a time lag and other red tape involved in testing.

Romero did not use steroids- he says he bought 6-OXO Extreme over-the-counter, and cleared it with Dong Lien the Phillies trainer. After Romero failed a urine test during the season, he refused to plead not guilty- so he could play in the post-season (and get the money and glory). Now, instead of 25 games for a 1st offense, he gets 50.

As much as I’d like to sympathize with a player getting punished by Commisioner Bud Selig, I don’t really feel like it. J.C. complains too much, and makes excuses. In my line of work, you can’t say, “Someone set up the machine before I can in, and that’s my the product is ruined.” You are responsible for that machine.

This is actually a very complicated story with a lot of facts and paperwork, and behind-the-scenes stuff. Here’s info from Philly.com, if you think the details will aid you in making a judgment on this. Personally, a failed test is a failed test to me. By now, players should just be drinking Red Bull and hitting the gym:

Romero said he went to the store to look for a supplement in July, the time of year he typically starts weight training again. He went to the shelf where his usual supplement was stocked and noticed a new product, 6-OXO Extreme, next to it…

The Major League Baseball Players Association has told players that supplements purchased in U.S. retails stores should be safe and within the guidelines of baseball’s drug-testing program. The union acknowledged giving that advice in a letter it sent out to players and their advisers in November. That letter, which arrived too late to help Romero, informed players that three over-the-counter supplements were found to create positive tests under baseball’s drug program.

In July, Romero showed the new supplement to Phillies strength coach Dong Lien, who recommended that Romero get a second opinion before using it. Romero then showed it to his personal nutritionist…

That nutritionist checked the product’s label and saw nothing on MLB’s banned list. Romero began taking the supplement at that point.

Meanwhile, according to the arbitrator’s report, Lien sent a sample of the supplement to MLB for testing. The tests showed the supplement contained a substance that could result in a positive drug test. A copy of those results was sent to commissioner Bud Selig’s office in July.

Considering it was the first time a banned substance was found in an FDA-regulated, over-the-counter supplement – one available to every major-leaguer and millions of youths – that should have sounded alarms. But no one from MLB, the players’ association or the Phillies told Romero that there was a problem with the supplement.

So where was the negligence? With Romero? With Lien? With MLB? With a union that told Romero and other Latin players they could trust products in U.S. stores such as Vitamin Shoppe (where Romero purchased the supplement) or GNC?

On Aug. 26, Romero gave a urine sample for a routine random drug test. On Sept. 19, during a road trip to Miami, he submitted another sample for a random test. It was not until four days later – after being tested randomly a second time – that Romero was told the Aug. 26 sample tested positive for a banned substance. He said he immediately stopped using the supplement.

According to sources close to Romero, baseball then offered the pitcher a deal. He could accept a 25-game suspension, beginning immediately, or face a longer suspension in 2009 after going through an arbitration process. Romero declined the deal for three reasons.

First, he believed accepting the suspension meant acknowledging wrongdoing. Second, he was hearing from players’ association attorneys that the circumstances made it seem likely that he would win at arbitration. Third, the suspension would have prevented Romero from playing in the postseason.

“It wasn’t a tough decision to make at all,” Romero said. “I knew I wasn’t going to accept that. Me accepting a 25-game suspension meant I was guilty of something. I knew in my heart I wasn’t guilty.”

He feels he owes it to himself, his family and his teammates to explain how this suspension came about.

“If people are intimidated because Major League [Baseball] is a big organization, so be it,” Romero said. “But they are not going to make an example of me thinking that I’m just a [dumb] Puerto Rican. It’s not going to happen. It’s not the way I’m built.

“For me to keep my mouth shut? That’s not the right thing to do. If they want to bump me out of the game, so be it. What am I going to do, just sit back and take it? When I know in my heart I’m innocent? That doesn’t fly well with me and it doesn’t fly well in my house, either.”

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