| Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig
announced today that he has authorized an investigation into
reported steroid use by Major League Baseball players
associated with the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO).
Selig has selected former U.S. Senator George Mitchell to lead
the investigation.
Senator Mitchell and a team of investigators will have
complete autonomy in investigating the allegations of the use
of illegal performance-enhancing substances by Major League
players that have surfaced in the government's case against
the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO). Senator Mitchell
will also have the authority to pursue the investigation
wherever he deems necessary.
At the conclusion of the investigation, Senator Mitchell
will prepare a report of his findings that will be made
public.
"Nothing is more important to me than the integrity of the
game of baseball," Commissioner Selig said. "The unique
circumstances surrounding BALCO and the evidence revealed in a
recently published book have convinced me that Major League
Baseball must undertake this investigation.
"Senator Mitchell is one of the most respected public
figures in the nation. His career in public service is beyond
reproach and his integrity and leadership ability are beyond
question. Major League Baseball is fortunate and pleased to
have a person of such high character and acclaim to lead this
investigation."
Senator Mitchell said: "I accept the responsibility placed
on me by the Commissioner in full recognition of the
seriousness of the many issues raised by the task. The
allegations arising out of the BALCO investigation that Major
League players have used steroids and other illegal
performance-enhancing drugs have caused fans and observers to
question the integrity of play at the highest level of our
national game. These allegations require close scrutiny."
Senator Mitchell, a former Federal Judge and United State
Attorney, is now a partner at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary. He
and members of his law firm will be assisted by Jeffrey
Collins, a former United States Attorney and now a partner in
the Detroit office of Foley & Lardner, as well as Thomas
Carlucci, a former Assistant United States Attorney and now a
partner in the San Francisco office of Foley & Lardner.
Senator Mitchell served the public as a Senator from Maine
(1980-1995) and as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to
1995. He has had extensive investigative experience, having
led numerous criminal investigations as a United States
Attorney. Senator Mitchell also led the United States Olympic
Committee's investigation into allegations of impropriety in
the bidding process in connection with the selection of Salt
Lake City for the 2002 winter games.
In 1996, the governments of the United Kingdom and Northern
Ireland asked Senator Mitchell to chair the peace negotiations
in Northern Ireland. Senator Mitchell led the negotiations for
two years, work that ultimately resulted in an accord that
ended decades of conflict. In May 1998, the agreement was
overwhelmingly endorsed by voters in Northern Ireland and the
Irish Republic. He received numerous awards and honors
recognizing his service in the peace talks, including the
Presidential Medal of Freedom on March 17, 1999.
Also, at the request of President Bill Clinton and Israeli
and Palestinian leaders, Senator Mitchell served as chairman
of an international fact-finding committee on violence in the
Middle East. The Committee's recommendation, widely known as
the Mitchell Report, was endorsed by the Bush Administration,
the European Union, and many other governments.
A lifetime baseball fan, Senator Mitchell currently is on
the Board of Directors of the Boston Red Sox. He is also
Chairman of the Board of the Walt Disney Company.
| • In 1994, even though the focus
concerning steroids was on other sports,
Commissioner Selig had the foresight to
encourage the Clubs to make a comprehensive drug
testing-proposal to the union that included
steroids. Unfortunately, that proposal was
rejected by the MLBPA.
• In 1998, after androstenedione was
discovered in Mark McGwire's locker, the
Commissioner, along with the MLBPA, funded a
study to determine whether androstenedione was
truly an anabolic androgenic agent. The study
was done at Harvard and was an important impetus
for the federal regulation of andro and other
steroid precursors.
• In the wake of the androstenedione study,
Commissioner Selig began to assemble a group of
medical experts to deal with the broader issue
of steroids. His efforts in this area started to
bear fruit in 2001 when the Commissioner
implemented a tough new policy on performance
enhancing substances for the minor leagues. The
Commissioner could act unilaterally and impose
drug-testing in the minor leagues, but not in
the Major Leagues where drug-testing is a matter
of collective bargaining and must be negotiated
with the Players Association.
• It has been well-documented that this minor
league policy has dramatically reduced the usage
of steroids in the minor leagues. Even more
important, the Commissioner has amended the
policy to address new developments in the area
of performance enhancing substances and has
expanded its scope to cover all of professional
baseball including the Dominican and Venezuelan
summer leagues.
• In the next round of collective bargaining
in 2002, Commissioner Selig again made
drug-testing for steroids a bargaining priority.
Over heavy union opposition, he succeeded in
achieving the first random drug-testing policy
ever in the Major Leagues. Since then, the
Commissioner has spearheaded two re-negotiations
of the drug policy, culminating in the current
policy - 50 days suspension for a first offense,
100 days for a second, and a lifetime ban for a
third - which is the toughest drug-testing
program in professional sports.
• On the political front, Commissioner Selig
lobbied aggressively to support federal
legislation of steroid precursors that was
eventually passed as the Steroid Control Act of
2004. Major League Baseball also provides
financial support for steroid education through
the Taylor Hooton Foundation and has partnered
with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America in
its anti-steroids efforts.
• Commissioner Selig continues to press for
improvements in dealing with the steroids issue.
Just recently, Major League Baseball funded a
three-year project aimed at developing a urine
test for Human Growth Hormone.
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