JC Romero has filed a lawsuit against Ergopharm, Inc. and Proviant Technologies, the manufacturer and distributor of 6-OXO Extreme, the supplement that Romero claims caused him to test positive for androstenedione (or a derivative) on August 26 2008. Romero appealed his suspension but Major League Baseball ruled Romero "negligent" and his suspension was upheld.
Romero’s civil suit states that employees from The Vitamin Shoppe in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and a GNC in Fairhope, Alabama assured Romero that 6-OXO Extreme would not cause a positive test. Romero reportedly also spoke with a nutritionist, though he never contacted MLB. The supplement does not list andro as one of its ingredients.
The suit cites the following damages.
- Loss of past income and earning capacity in an amount to be proven at trail.
- Lost of future income and earning capacity.
- Past and future pain, suffering and humiliation.
- Loss of enjoyment of life, past and future.
"I think it's the right thing to do, not only for myself, but for the rest of the athletes… I think the manufacturer has a lot of culpability in this case. It's the reason why I'm suspended in the first place. "
"I don't want this to happen again to anybody else. I think that's the most important thing. We're trying to do the right thing for the game of baseball. At the same time, this is a bigger issue than just trying to clean up the game of baseball. We've got situations where certain manufactures are making products that have some tainted ingredients in it, and some ingredients that are banned. That results in a tainted supplement. I don't think that's right. If you do something wrong, you've got to pay for it."
Ergopharm is run by Patrick Arnold, the chemist best known for creating androstenedione and BALCO’s now infamous undetectable steroid, The Clear. Arnold issued a statement in response to Romero's lawsuit.
"In a time of well documented steroid scandals, increased scrutiny of athletes, allegations of contaminated supplements and improved drug testing protocols… If an athlete chooses to ignore an explicit warning on the label of a dietary supplement product, fails to conduct reasonable inquiry, and thereafter the athlete tests positive for a banned substance, the athlete should take responsibility for their actions. If he refuses to do so, and attempts to blame others, his claims should be properly rejected both within the legal system and in the court of public opinion."
Romero’s lawyer, David Cornwell responded to Arnold in an email to the Associated Press.
"One should consider the source and the fact that the statement fails to address the presence of androstenedione, a controlled substance, in 6-OXO EXTREME. In my opinion, after injury and age, companies like Proviant may be the next greatest threat to the careers of athletes who use nutritional supplements."
6-OXO Extreme has been removed from both GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe’s websites.
Sources
- Suspended Phillie Romero files suitESPN
- Suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero suing supplement makers over positive steroid testNY Daily News
- Romero files suit over suspensionMLB.com
