Giants' trainer subpoenaed in steroid investigation
April 19, 2006, Daily News Wire Services
The head athletic trainer for the San Francisco Giants was told to appear before a federal grand jury investigating whether Barry Bonds lied about his connection to the BALCO steroids scandal, a newspaper reported.
Stan Conte, who is not related to Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative owner Victor Conte, was subpoenaed to appear in a San Francisco federal courtroom on April 27, the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the investigation.
According to the Chronicle, the grand jury wants Conte to turn over the team's training records related to Bonds.
Bonds addressed the latest probe publicly for the first time yesterday on his television show, "Bonds on Bonds."
He said he would not repeat what he told the BALCO grand jury more than 2 years ago because he still stands by those comments.
"I said what I said in the grand jury testimony," Bonds said. "That's what I stated and that's what I will live by for the rest of my life."
According to excerpts of the testimony previously reported by the Chronicle, Bonds testified that he used substances given to him by a trainer that he didn't know were steroids.
The investigation isn't Bonds' only distraction. Recently, two fans have thrown items onto the field during games in separate incidents. One, who threw a syringe in San Diego, wasn't caught. Another, Mark Greggersen, of Show Low, Ariz., tossed what resembled a tube of toothpaste in Phoenix. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
Greggersen's mother, Karen, said her son has disliked Bonds because the slugger "was a total jerk" to him when he tried to get an autograph "10 to 15 years ago." She said the item her son allegedly threw was a tube of a muscle pain reliever.
Noteworthy
• Arizona minor league pitcher Angel Rocha was suspended for 100 games, the toughest penalty baseball has levied for a positive steroids test. Rocha was suspended for 15 games last June 6.
