Giambi Admits to Using Steroids -- What Now?: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that in Grand Jury testimony last December, Yankees first baseman and former American League MVP Jason Giambi admitted to taking both steroids and human growth hormone. The testimony was given as part of a grand jury investigation into Balco, a California drug company accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. Obviously, this testimony contradicts Giambi's previous public statements that he never took performance-enhancing drugs. The article linked to above has excerpts from the testimony, as well as a description of which drugs Giambi admitted taking.



The key question now becomes -- what are the ramifications of this admission? Giambi was granted immunity for agreeing to testify and thus cannot be prosecuted for using illegal drugs based on this testimony. So, it seems that he will not face legal trouble.



This immunity does not, however, extend to Major League Baseball penalties. Like all sports leagues, MLB takes performance-enhancing drug use very seriously. Add in the fact that Congress conducted investigations into drug use in baseball last year and Giambi faces a harsh punishment. A season-long ban is not out of the question, to send a message to all players that performance-enhancing drugs will not be tolerated. Under the newly-adopted World Anti-Doping Code, first-time offenders are banned for two years (example). Thus, there is precedent to support a season-long ban, which certainly would be challenged by the union.



One question I have: can or will Major League Baseball come up with some sort of "plea bargain" for Giambi? Baseball knows that other players use drugs and now has the admission of Giambi. Can baseball offer Giambi a lesser suspension for "ratting out" his fellow players? I am not sure what the collective bargaining agreement says on this, but even if it is silent, I see such a possibility highly unlikely. Giambi may never play again because of his health, no matter what punishment he receives from baseball. Couple that with the horrific stigma that would come from siding with the league and against his fellow players, and it seems that Giambi will take the fall for all drug users in baseball. This does not mean that more players will not have their testimony used against them, but Giambi will not be the one to offer up the evidence.



Could the baseball writers revoke Giambi's MVP award? The testimony seems unclear about whether Giambi took performance-enhancing drugs during his 2000 MVP season, but this definitely casts some doubt over the honor. This seems remote, though, because the late former MVP Ken Caminiti also admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs with no response from the writers.



In addition, could Giambi's contract be in danger? The Yankees are openly not happy with Giambi's performance since it gave him a $120 million contract three years ago. ESPN now reports that the Yankees are looking into termination of Giambi's contract. Unless the contract has a specific provision relating to illegal or performance-enhancing drug use, this seems an unlikely consequence. Professional baseball contracts are not at-will; they are guaranteed. The only plausible argument I can foresee deals with any clause relating to physical conditioning. I have never seen Giambi's contract, but many professional sports contracts have language about not engaging in activities that could endanger the athlete's physical well-being or readiness to play (think, riding motorcycles). The Yankees could argue that Giambi's drug use directly led to his current health problems that caused him to miss half of last season and have put his career in jeopardy. Even with this argument, however, any attempt by the Yankees to terminate the contract would face incredible opposition from the union and in court.



No matter what the fall-out, Giambi's professional baseball career seems to be over. He will be dogged by this no matter where he goes and where he plays. If he plays poorly, people will say he was only good because of the steroids. And his declining health and increasing age will likely prevent him from returning to the greatness of his MVP season. It is unfortunate that he will take the fall for the other athletes that have taken illegal drugs, but we can hope that this will scare other athletes away from performance-enhancing supplements, which would be better for the athlete, the fan and the sport.

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