Victor Conte, Disgraced Founder of BALCO and Central Figure in Sports Doping Scandals, Dies at 75

Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) and a central figure in one of the most significant performance-enhancing drug scandals to rock professional sports, died on Monday at the age of 75. Conte had publicly disclosed his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in June.

Conte’s name became synonymous with the widespread doping that plagued professional baseball, track and field, and boxing during the late 1990s and early 2000s. His company, BALCO, initially presented itself as a provider of nutritional supplements and comprehensive testing services, offering blood and urine analysis to athletes seeking a competitive edge. However, it was later revealed to be a sophisticated hub for the distribution of banned performance-enhancing substances.

Born in 1949, Conte initially pursued a career in music. He played bass guitar for the renowned R&B group Tower of Power for a brief period in the 1970s, and also collaborated with jazz musician Herbie Hancock. In 1984, he transitioned into the world of sports science and nutrition, founding BALCO in Burlingame, California.

Initially, BALCO focused on providing athletes with vitamins, minerals, and other supplements, along with analyzing their blood and urine samples to optimize their training and recovery. Conte cultivated relationships with a diverse range of athletes, from Olympic track and field stars to professional football players. However, the scope of BALCO’s operations expanded significantly in the late 1990s and early 2000s, leading to its eventual downfall.

In 2000, Conte began working with Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger who was on his way to breaking baseball’s all-time home run record. Bonds’s association with Conte and BALCO would later become a focal point of the doping scandal that engulfed Major League Baseball. At the time, Bonds was one of the most dominant players in the game. In 2001, he set a single-season home run record with 73, surpassing Mark McGwire’s previous record of 70. From 2001 to 2004, Bonds won four consecutive National League MVP awards, an unprecedented feat.

In 2003, a federal investigation into BALCO was launched, triggered by a tip-off from a track coach who suspected the laboratory was providing athletes with undetectable performance-enhancing drugs. The investigation, led by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), uncovered a sophisticated doping network that spanned multiple sports.

The investigation revealed that BALCO was distributing a variety of banned substances to athletes, including anabolic steroids, human growth hormone (HGH), and a designer steroid known as "The Clear," which was specifically created to evade detection in drug tests. The Clear, chemically known as tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), was a synthetic steroid that had not yet been identified by anti-doping agencies. Conte and his associates at BALCO were able to produce and distribute this substance, giving their clients a significant advantage over their competitors.

The list of athletes implicated in the BALCO scandal was extensive and included some of the biggest names in sports. In addition to Barry Bonds, track and field star Marion Jones, Olympic sprinter Tim Montgomery, and world champion boxer Shane Mosley were all revealed to have been BALCO clients. Marion Jones, who won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was later stripped of her medals and served a prison sentence for lying to federal investigators about her use of performance-enhancing drugs. Tim Montgomery, who broke the world record in the 100-meter dash in 2002, was also stripped of his record and served a prison sentence for his involvement in the BALCO scandal.

The BALCO scandal had a profound impact on the world of sports, exposing the extent of doping and raising serious questions about the integrity of competition. The scandal led to increased scrutiny of drug testing procedures and a renewed commitment to fighting doping in sports.

In 2005, Victor Conte pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering. He was sentenced to four months in prison and four months of home confinement. Several other individuals associated with BALCO were also charged and convicted, including Greg Anderson, Bonds’s personal trainer, and Remi Korchemny, a track coach.

After his release from prison, Conte attempted to rehabilitate his image and become an advocate for clean sport. He founded Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC), a company that provides nutritional supplements and training advice to athletes. Conte claimed that SNAC focused on clean performance enhancement and that he was committed to helping athletes compete without using banned substances.

Conte also became a vocal critic of the lax drug testing standards in professional boxing. He advocated for more rigorous testing and pushed for the inclusion of testing by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), an independent organization that conducts drug testing programs for athletes. Conte worked with several boxers, including Nonito Donaire and Andre Berto, and encouraged them to participate in VADA testing.

However, Conte’s efforts to rehabilitate his image were met with skepticism by some. Critics pointed to the fact that some of the boxers he worked with at SNAC, such as Andre Berto in 2012, failed drug tests, raising questions about the effectiveness of his clean sport program. In Berto’s case, he tested positive for norandrosterone, a banned anabolic steroid, leading to the cancellation of his rematch against Victor Ortiz. Berto maintained his innocence, claiming that he had unknowingly ingested the substance. Conte defended his work with Berto, stating that any positive tests were not a result of work done by SNAC.

Despite the controversy surrounding his past, Conte remained a prominent figure in the sports world, particularly in boxing. He was known for his knowledge of nutrition, training, and drug testing, and he continued to offer his expertise to athletes and trainers.

In a statement released following Conte’s death, SNAC described him as a "fearless leader, SNAC mastermind, CEO, anti-doping advocate, creator of ZMA, former Tower of Power and Herbie Hancock bassist." The statement added, "We will honor his wishes. SNAC and his legacy will carry forward, strong and forever. We love you, Conte!"

Victor Conte’s legacy remains complex and controversial. He will be remembered as the mastermind behind one of the most significant doping scandals in sports history, but also as a figure who later attempted to advocate for clean competition. His death marks the end of an era in sports, a time when doping was rampant and the fight against performance-enhancing drugs was just beginning. The ramifications of the BALCO scandal continue to be felt today, as sports organizations grapple with the ongoing challenge of ensuring fair and clean competition.