Sprinter reportedly testified to steroid use

SAN FRANCISCO — When Tim Montgomery appeared before a federal grand jury — and reportedly admitted using performance-enhancing drugs — he probably expected his testimony to stay secret until the case went to trial.

But on Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle published details of the testimony in which Montgomery also said the man at the center of the BALCO scandal told him he supplied Barry Bonds with steroids. The newspaper did not say how it obtained the information.

Montgomery’s lawyers — and representatives of the other elite athletes and trainers implicated in the steroid probe — were livid over the leak. Several called for a federal investigation.

“I think it’s outrageous,” said Anna Ling, the attorney for Bonds’ trainer, Greg Anderson, one of four men indicted in the BALCO scandal. “The secrecy of the grand jury system is a foundation of the criminal justice system.”

Montgomery testified that he used human growth hormone and a then-undetectable steroid, and that the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative’s founder, Victor Conte, told him he gave Bonds performance-enhancers, according to the Chronicle. The newspaper’s report included direct quotes from Montgomery’s testimony.

It is illegal to give grand jury testimony to the media. Prosecutors did not return calls from the Associated Press seeking to determine if they would launch an investigation.

Montgomery was one of several sprinters who received a letter Wednesday from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency warning that they could face punishment for alleged steroid use. USADA plans to seek a lifetime ban for Montgomery, two sources familiar with USADA’s warning letter told the AP on condition of anonymity.

Montgomery also gave secondhand testimony implicating Bonds, saying Conte told him he supplied Bonds with the same steroid Ben Johnson used before being disqualified in the 1988 Olympics. Montgomery also said Conte told him Bonds switched to an undetectable steroid in 2003, when baseball introduced its drug policy.

“That is absolutely untrue,” said Conte’s attorney, Robert Holley.

Bonds has publicly denied using any performance-enhancing drugs and lashed out at Montgomery on Thursday.

“It bothers me when people I don’t even know are saying stuff about me,” Bonds said, venting his anger in the San Francisco Giants’ locker room. “Next time, if I know for sure so-and-so, they’re going to talk to my lawyer from now on. I guarantee that.”