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Marlon Byrd Taking Supplements From Victor Conte’s Post-BALCO Company

Posted on June 25th, 2009 12:08am by Evan Grant
Filed under Baseball, Rangers notes, Texas Rangers

Who knows where this will go? But as Yahoo Sports reports, Marlon Byrd has been purchasing supplements from the company started by Victor Conte, the man behind BALCO (the drug lab at the center of waves of performance-enhancing drugs scandals), for the past 18 months.

The story reminds folks that Conte supplied illegal PEDs to Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, Bill Romanowski, Dwain Chambers, Kelli White and many other elite athletes. Byrd told Yahoo’s Steve Henson that he has never asked Conte if the powders and supplements could trigger a positive drug test.

“I didn’t need to,” Byrd is quoted as saying in the story. “From our conversations, there was no need to ask.”

Rangers GM Jon Daniels said the club encourages players to use only supplements that have been approved and certified by MLB’s testing agency to avoid the possibility of receiving tainted product that could cause a positive test. Byrd has presumably been tested multiple times under the MLB drug testing policy during the last 18 months and has never been suspended.

13 Comments to “Marlon Byrd Taking Supplements From Victor Conte’s Post-BALCO Company”

Little O @ June 25th, 2009 at 12:33 am

No need for Byrd to take an IQ test either.

Seriously, how stupid do you have to be to associate in any way with Conte?
RAT @ June 25th, 2009 at 1:07 am

I wonder if the Rangers will edit their “flex cam” any?

That said, guilt by association is a bad thing, as long as no positive tests pop up, this is pointless information.
Ehren @ June 25th, 2009 at 7:42 am

No need to ask?! He just better not put up a fight if he tests positive.
Apples @ June 25th, 2009 at 8:23 am

Real Story:

“… Certification is expensive, however, and a company such as SNAC could spend upward of $100,000 to have all of its products placed on the approved list for MLB. Only 53 products by 15 companies are currently “Certified for Sport” by NSF, making them eligible for MLB teams to provide them in their training facilities.”
Scout0820 @ June 25th, 2009 at 9:00 am

Why doesn’t the staff of team nutrionists provide approved supplements for the players and only allow players to use the products that they provide? This would eliminate any question of the products used and also allow for immediate club punishment for anything that comes up in a test. It would also prevent bad headlines like this and keep the players looking to legitimate authorities on this matter.
Evan Grant @ June 25th, 2009 at 11:08 am

@SCout0820: You can’t dictate what a player puts in his body. I suppose you could try and ban certain supplements from the clubhouse proper, but if I was the Rangers, I’d rather know what guys are putting in their body and when.
Evan Grant @ June 25th, 2009 at 11:09 am

@Scout0820: By “you can’t dictate,” I mean its simply impossible to completely police what players are doing. If that was the case, NBA teams would say you can’t smoke dope. And – voila! – the league’s pot problem would be gone.
AB @ June 25th, 2009 at 11:15 am

Marlon has been tested mulitple times while taking the SNAC supplements. All tests were obviously negative or you wouldve heard about it. I take offense the the comment regarding Marlon’s IQ. Marlon is very intelligent and he is is extremely well-informed when it comes to his health,nutrition, supplements, training, etc. Victor Conte is the best in the business with regard to nutritional supplements for athletes. Marlon put this story out there himself b/c he has nothing to hide.
AB @ June 25th, 2009 at 11:19 am

Also, I’d like to add that the comment by scout0820 is quite hilarious! The rangers’”team nutritionist and their staff” is non-existent. the players are on their own when it comes to supplementing their nutrition.
C.J. @ June 25th, 2009 at 11:22 am

It amazes me that major league teams employ countless trainers, assistants, etc., and they can’t hire one dude to scour the entire supplements market, come up with an exhaustive list of allowed substances, and then allow players to order from that list directly through the team.

Seriously, you provide nearly every other amenity that these players need to play the game, and you can’t/won’t expand those provisions to supplements? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

As for Byrd, he seems like a good guy, has helped this team, but dealing with Victor Conte is about the stupidest thing a MLB player could do.
AB @ June 25th, 2009 at 11:34 am

There is a list provided by the MLBPA and it is updated and handed out each spring. A problem arises when new products come on the market during the season typically sold at GNC, vitamin world, etc. HOWEVER, it is the player’s repsonsibilty to have the supplement tested first. A player can have the team trainer send a sample of the supplement to MLB to have it tested and approved.
Longhorn Matt @ June 25th, 2009 at 11:51 am

After J.C. Romero’s suspension, I hope that Marlon is extremely careful to avoid a similar situation or worse. The article also mentions the “slippery slope” that lead Conte to steroids in the first place, and I hope Marlon stays on firm, level ground.
Little O @ June 25th, 2009 at 12:52 pm

Sorry AB but common sense should tell you to avoid people like Conte.