Romero questions suspension

Romero questions suspension

While Major League Baseball never said J.C. Romero tried to cheat, the 33-year-old reliever who won the third and clinching games of the 2008 World Series has been ruled guilty of "negligence" and will be suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season.
Romero
Romero

Romero said on Monday that he bought a supplement from a GNC store in Cherry Hill, N.J., last July. The Players Association had told players the supplement was acceptable, but now the Philadelphia Phillies left-hander will receive a suspension and lose $1.25 million.

"I still cannot see where I did something wrong," Romero said. "There is nothing that should take away from the rings of my teammates. I didn't cheat. I tried to follow the rules."

Romero said he does not want to name the supplement in case young athletes go out and purchase it.

Three months after Romero was tested before a Phillies-Mets game on Aug. 26, the Players Association sent a Nov. 21 letter to players that stated, "We have previously told you there is no reason to believe a supplement bought at a U.S. based retail store could cause you to test positive under our Drug Program. That is no longer true. We have recently learned of three substances which can be bought over the counter at stores in the United States that will cause you to test positive. These three supplements were purchased at a GNC and Vitamin Shoppe in the U.S."

In Romero's arbitration hearing that was held in Tampa during the first two days of the World Series, it was claimed that in early July the Center for Drug Free Support had notified MLB of questions about the supplement Romero had purchased. Somehow, MLB and the Players Association never got that straight, according to Romero.

Rob Manfred, MLB's vice president of labor relations and human resources, who carries the reputation of being extraordinarily fair, did not return a call regarding the case.

So caught in the middle of MLB and the Players Association is Romero. He has his World Series ring. He has the distinction of being the winning pitcher in Games 3 and 5. "But," he said, "what's most important is that I get back my honor. This just isn't fair."

Last season was Romero's 10th in the major leagues. In 2006, he tested positive for a precursor of testosterone, which was a fertility supplement his wife Erin and he were taking. The case was dropped. On Nov. 27, 2006, their daughter Jazlyn was born.

Then came this summer's fiasco. "The season is a grind," Romero said. "When you're a middle reliever, you have to be ready to get up and down and pitch every day. Everyone takes something. Some guys drink coffee, others supplements. We try to make sure they're all legal. I certainly did."

On July 22, Romero bought a supplement at the GNC store in Cherry Hill. He had it checked by his personal nutritionist, who said there was nothing in the supplement that was illegal. There was no warning on the label. Romero mentioned it to Phillies strength and conditioning coach Dong Lien.

There seems to be some confusion in testimony during the October arbitration hearing. According to Romero, Lien told him to get a second opinion; Romero took the supplement to a second nutritionist, who cleared it. In the hearing, Lien testified to that fact, but at another time he said he suggested Romero not take it. Romero in no way blames Lien.

"What they now say I should have done was call the drug hotline," Romero said. "But I had it checked out by nutritionists, and I was following the guidelines laid down by the Players Association in spring training."

On Aug. 26 and Sept. 19, Romero was tested, as all players are, randomly. On Sept. 23, Players Association counsel Bob Lenaghan informed Romero he had tested positive.

"I immediately stopped taking all supplements, although I had no idea it was the cause of the positive test," Romero said.

He spoke to Michael Weiner at the PA and told him he did not know the cause of the positive test. On Oct. 1, Weiner told Romero that the specific supplemnent was indeed the cause of the failed test and that because it was purchased over the counter in the U.S. he believed the case would be dropped.

That same day, Oct. 1, Romero was again tested. The results were negative. So for the NLDS, NLCS and World Series, the supplement was no longer in his system.

Two days later, Romero was informed that MLB would be willing to reduce his suspension to 25 games, starting at the beginning of the 2009 season on the condition that he admitted guilt. Romero said he couldn't, because he did not believe he did anything wrong.

On on Oct. 12, the second test results came back -- from the Sept. 19 test conducted four days before Romero learned he'd tested positive the first time -- and were positive. MLB then changed its offer: The suspension would still be reduced to 25 games, but it had to start immediately and he had to admit guilt. Again, Romero declined, because he did not believe he was in the wrong and because he did not want to miss his first World Series.

The arbitration hearing was held Oct. 22 in Tampa, the first day of the World Series. Curiously, the bottle of the supplement MLB had purchased contained the label warning: "Use of this product may be banned by some athletic or government associations." However, the bottle Romero had purchased and brought to the hearing contained no warning.

In December, the Players Association informed Romero that the arbitrator had had a change of heart and was ruling against him. Sunday, that was confirmed, and Tuesday afternoon, MLB will announce the suspension.

There seems to be little question that the Players Association unwittingly misled Romero -- and other players -- about over-the-counter supplements purchased in the United States. Somehow, after MLB was warned in early July, their concerns did not reach the Players Association about three supplements available at every GNC store.

Romero now pays the price. Fifty games, $1.25M.

"I told them that if I ever tested positive again I would accept a 100 day suspension," Romero said. "They know I didn't cheat. And yet the rest of my career people are going to say, 'he cheated,' even though I tested negative at the start of the playoffs. I did what I was told to do, what I thought was legal and right."

That is ridiculous to hold him guilty! Even after his asking about the supplement, and showing them that his bottle DID NOT have a warning, they hit him like this. They better come up with a list, and give it to each player as to what is not acceptable!

01/06/09 2:00 PM EST
Romero handed 50-game suspension
Left-hander disciplined with Mitre for use of banned substance

By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

Phillies left-hander J.C. Romero tested positive for use of an over-the-counter supplement and has been suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season, Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday.

At the same time, MLB also announced that Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre, now on the club's Triple-A roster, was suspended for 50 games for the same reason.

ESPN.com first reported the suspensions on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Both players said they unintentionally ingested the banned substances, which were not identified on the labels of the supplements they purchased at GNC stores in different parts of the country. They both grieved the results of the tests but lost their cases in front of an arbitrator.

While MLB, as is its custom, announced the suspensions without comment or detail, the Players Association reacted to the punishments in a strongly worded statement issued by general counsel Michael Weiner.

"Sergio Mitre and J.C. Romero were suspended for fifty games each by the Commissioner because they tested positive during the 2008 regular season for a Performance Enhancing Substance," the statement said. "Those suspensions were upheld by a neutral third-party arbitrator after hearing. We strongly disagree with the Commissioner's discipline and with the arbitrator's decision.

"Mitre and Romero both legally purchased nutritional supplements from national chain stores in the United States. Nothing on the labels of those supplements indicated that they contained a trace amount of a substance prohibited under Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Neither player intentionally ingested this prohibited substance, but the arbitrator nevertheless found, wrongly in our view, that the players' conduct violated the Program's 'no fault or negligence' standard.

"The Union respects the arbitration process and treats the decision as final. In our view, though, the resulting discipline imposed upon Mitre and Romero is unfair. These players should not be suspended. Their unknowing actions plainly are distinguishable from those of a person who intentionally used an illegal performance-enhancing substance."

Romero became the first player on a 25-man roster of one of the 30 Major League teams to be suspended under the auspices of the Joint Drug and Prevention Program for testing positive during the 2008 season.

Under terms of the agreement, which came into force for the first time on a survey basis for the 2003 season, a first positive test for a player nets a 50-game suspension without pay, a second a 100-game suspension without pay and a third a lifetime ban with the right to seek reinstatement after two years.

Romero said on Monday that he bought an unnamed supplement from a GNC store in Cherry Hill, N.J., on July 22. He had it checked by his personal nutritionist, and there was no warning on the label.

"I still cannot see where I did something wrong," Romero told ESPN.com. "There is nothing that should take away from the rings of my teammates. I didn't cheat. I tried to follow the rules."

Mitre said that he unintentionally used an over-the-counter supplement, this one purchased at a GNC outlet in Florida while he was pitching for the Marlins this past season.

Mitre failed a drug test because the supplement contained traces of androstenedione, a substance that is banned by MLB and the Players Association.

"I did take the supplement in question and accept full responsibility for taking it," Mitre said in a statement released through his agent, Paul Cobbe. "What has been difficult for me to understand is that I legally purchased this supplement at GNC and had no intention nor desire to cheat or to circumvent the system in any way."

Romero tested positive twice for use of the supplement: on Aug. 26 before a Phillies-Mets game in Philadelphia and on Sept. 19 before a game in Miami.

On Nov. 21, the union sent a letter to all players stating: "We have previously told you there is no reason to believe a supplement bought at a U.S.-based retail store could cause you to test positive under our Drug Program. That is no longer true. We have recently learned of three substances which can be bought over the counter at stores in the United States that will cause you to test positive. These three supplements were purchased at a GNC and Vitamin Shoppe in the U.S."

Romero said he had unwittingly taken one of those supplements.

"The season is a grind," Romero said. "When you're a middle reliever, you have to be ready to get up and down and pitch every day. Everyone takes something. Some guys drink coffee, others supplements. We try to make sure they're all legal. I certainly did."

On Sept. 23, Players Association counsel Bob Lenaghan informed Romero he had failed the initial test.

"I immediately stopped taking all supplements, although I had no idea it was the cause of the positive test," Romero said.

Romero was tested again on Oct. 1 before the start of the playoffs. The results were negative. He pitched eight times in the postseason and was the winning pitcher in Games 3 and 5 of the World Series, which the Phillies won over the Rays in five games.

Three games into the National League Division Series, Romero said he was told by MLB officials that they would be willing to reduce the suspension to 25 games at the start of the 2009 season if he admitted he was guilty. Romero declined. On Oct. 12, the results of the Sept. 19 test came back positive and MLB again offered 25 games, beginning immediately, if he admitted he was guilty.

Romero opted for an arbitration hearing. It began on Oct. 22 in Tampa, Fla., the day of Game 1 of the World Series, and lasted two days.

At the hearing, it was revealed that in early July, the Center for Drug Free Support had notified MLB of questions about the supplement Romero had purchased. Romero said that somehow, MLB and the union never quite connected on that information at the time, ESPN.com said.

The union said in a second statement issued on Tuesday by Weiner that "the Association knew nothing about the particular supplements involved here prior to learning of these positive results."

The Phillies said they wouldn't appeal the suspension, and that the defending World Series champs were prepared to deal with the consequences.

"It is a situation that has occurred," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said during a conference call on Tuesday. "The policy stands, and we support it. It's unfortunate J.C. has to face the suspension, but we support it, and we support J.C., and hopefully he'll be back pitching for us within 50 games. And we'll continue to strive forward to win the championship again in 2009."

The bottle of the supplement MLB presented at the hearing contained the warning: "Use of this product may be banned by some athletic or government associations." Meanwhile, the bottle containing the same substance that Romero had purchased and brought to the hearing didn't offer a printed warning.

In December, the union told Romero that the arbitrator had ruled against him. On Sunday, that was confirmed, ESPN.com reported.

Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. MLB reporter Matthew Leach contributed. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

WOW

bobrob2004 wrote:

Romero said he does not want to name the supplement in case young athletes go out and purchase it.

Umm...shouldn't he name it so that young athletes don't go out and purchase it?

I dont think that they should be suspended. Either of em. It just doesnt seem to be the most fair thing to me. I dont believe that they knew what they were taking.

gdennis59 wrote:

I dont think that they should be suspended. Either of em. It just doesnt seem to be the most fair thing to me. I dont believe that they knew what they were taking.

I agree

But it seems like MLB is running scared since the Mitchell Report


They are gonna error on the side of caution from now on