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Victor Conte Says At Least Half Of Baseball Is Still Using Steroids

Yesterday, Melky Cabrera received a 50-game suspension for testing positive for Testosterone. Today, Victor Conte, founder of BALCO, an infamous steroid-supplier for athletes, said Melky isn’t the only one still using.

Conte said he believes that at least 50 percent of players are still cheating with performance enhancing drugs.

Here is part of what Conte had to say:

“I would say,” Conte said, speaking slowly, “maybe as much as half of baseball.”

Wait, you’re saying that 50% of baseball players might still be cheating today, when the steroid era is supposed to be over?

“I’m not going to name names,” Conte said, “but I’ve talked to a lot of top players in Major League Baseball, and they tell me this is what they’re doing. There is rampant use of synthetic testosterone in Major League Baseball.”

Major League Baseball was quick to deny Conte’s allegations. Since the Mitchell Report was released in 2007, the MLB has stressed that it has the most stringent drug-testing policies in all of sports.

“There is no way that Victor Conte would have information that would allow him to have any basis on that,” MLB vice president Rob Manfred told USA TODAY Sports. “He’s just making that up. It’s a guess.

“We use the very best, most sophisticated methodologies that are available.”

But Conte said the tests are easily beatable. Players can use fast-acting drugs that are quickly out of their systems, and when it’s time to be drug-tested the players come up clean.

Whether the MLB needs to change its drug testing policies, or Victor Conte is wrong, and players are not using as much, one thing is certain: There are still players that are testing positive, and the system isn’t perfect.

Via USA Today

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