Senate to release evidence from steroids investigation to Olympic officials

Friday, May 7th 2004, 5:55 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. Senate agreed to release to Olympic officials and anti-drug monitors evidence that a committee has collected on banned performance-enhancing drug use among athletes.

``I am hopeful that, by the Senate taking this action now, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency may better fulfill its mission to ensure that the U.S. sends only those athletes to Greece who have qualified for the games through hard work and skill, rather than the use of performance-enhancing drugs,'' Sen. John McCain said Thursday.

The Senate approved release of the evidence without debate.

Officials with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency met privately on Wednesday with the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. McCain is the committee chairman.

The officials want the committee to turn over information received from the Justice Department regarding the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, steroids case ``so that America can be assured of fielding a clean and deserving Olympic team for the Athens Games,'' wrote William Martin, the USOC's acting president.

``We appreciate the leadership and involvement of Senator McCain and the United States Senate on this important issue,'' USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said. ``The Senate shares our commitment to sending a team to the Athens Games that represents the highest standards of fair play and clean competition.

``Today's development will help ensure that if violations of the anti-doping rules have taken place, those violations are dealt with fairly and quickly. This action will also help protect the reputation of athletes who may be the target of unfounded suspicion and innuendo.''

Four people have been indicted in the grand jury investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, on charges of illegally distributing steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to elite professional athletes.

Those indicted include track coach Remi Korchemny; Greg Anderson, the personal trainer to baseball star Barry Bonds; BALCO founder Victor Conte; and the lab's vice president, James Valente. All have pleaded innocent.

Dozens of athletes, including Bonds and baseball slugger Jason Giambi, have testified before the grand jury. No athletes were indicted.

McCain has pledged that the committee would use the documents to make sure the U.S. team is drug-free for the Athens Games this summer.

``We hope that after the committee has considered this matter it will see fit to provide the documents and any other relevant information in its possession to our anti-doping agency,'' Martin said.

McCain said any release would not be immediate.

``There is a Senate process for this kind of thing, when the Senate has documents that are sensitive in nature,'' McCain said. ``We go through a process before we turn them over.''