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Leading to 3,000th Hit, Palmeiro Hid His Secret
Rafael Palmeiro did not let anyone in on his dark secret that he had tested positive for steroids even as he celebrated his 3,000th hit.
(Anthony P. Bolante - Reuters)
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In general, a player's urine sample is divided into two parts, which are known as A and B samples. The A sample is tested first; if that turns up positive, the player is entitled to have representation when the B sample is tested. (Last year, Major League Baseball signed an agreement to have its samples tested at the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab in Montreal.) When Palmeiro's B sample also came back positive, he had two business days to file a written petition to baseball's four-person health policy advisory committee, comprised of MLB lawyer Rob Manfred, union lawyer Gene Orza, MLB medical adviser Larry Westreich and union medical adviser Joel Solomon.
At least one member of that committee agreed that Palmeiro had a reasonable basis for his appeal, so the issue was moved to an independent arbitrator for an expedited arbitration.
Shyam Das, who has handled arbitration issues for baseball for about six years, arbitrated the case, and also issued a gag order on the proceedings that was never lifted.
Reaction to Palmeiro's claim of an accidental positive test has been mixed. As recently as mid-June, during a trip to Toronto, Orioles players had a closed-door meeting with union chief Donald Fehr, in which they were reminded again not to use any supplements they were not certain were steroids-free.
"We're grown men," Gibbons said. "We don't have to be taught. We know what we're putting in our bodies."
"Oh, pull-lease, as my kids would say," World Anti-Doping Agency Chairman Dick Pound said. "We're way beyond that time, the day before people were alerted to the fact that some nutritional supplements weren't properly labeled. Now, the issue is so prevalent, if you don't know, you are either reckless or idiotic to take it. You know what you are ingesting."
During an appearance March 17 before a House committee investigating steroid use in sports, Palmeiro emphatically denied having used steroids. Some members of that committee have threatened to pursue perjury charges against Palmeiro if it is discovered he was lying. Among the options being considered is issuing a subpoena for Palmeiro's test results from previous seasons.
According to Palmeiro's agent, Arn Tellem, Palmeiro contacted Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, and "assured [Davis] he will cooperate fully and provide his committee with any information it requests."
Staff writers Amy Shipley, in Miami, and Jorge Arangure Jr., in Baltimore, contributed to this report.
