From the AP’s David Kravets and Paul Elias :
The names and urine samples of about 100 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs three years ago can be used by government investigators in their probe of steroids in sports, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could bolster the government’s case against Barry Bonds if his name is among those who tested positive. The San Francisco Giants slugger has been the target of a perjury investigation since he testified before a grand jury that he didn’t knowingly ingest performance enhancing drugs.
The samples had been collected by the league in 2003 as part of a survey to gauge the prevalence of steroid use. Baseball players and owners agreed in their labor contract that the results would be confidential, and each player was assigned a code number to be matched with his name.
Quest Diagnostics of Teterboro, N.J., one of the largest drug-testing firms in the nation, analyzed more than 1,400 urine samples from players that season. Comprehensive Drug Testing, of Long Beach, coordinated the collection of specimens and compiled the data.
Though I have no inside knowledge of the identities of any of the players that tested positive, I shudder to think what the next batch of revelations might do to Manny Alexander’s Hall of Fame chances.
EZ Pass data was also supposed to be confidential. It didn’t take long, though, for lawyers to start issuing subpoenae for EZ Pass records in divorce cases and criminal investigations.
I’m shocked that the union didn’t see this coming. I guess they figured that with the war going on, who would care about a bunch of juiced up ballplayers?