Larry Izzo to Testify Against Barry Bonds
The list of prosecution witnesses in the government's case against Barry Bonds includes one NFL player: New England Patriots special teams captain Larry Izzo.
Izzo, who has played for the Patriots since 2001, will reportedly testify that he received performance-enhancing drugs from Bonds' friend and personal trainer Greg Anderson in 2003. He will apparently not testify that he has any specific knowledge of Bonds' steroid use, but building the case that Anderson distributed steroids is part of the government's effort to prove that Bonds lied to federal investigators about his own involvement with performance-enhancing drugs.
Izzo is a three-time Pro Bowler, and he's the second Pro Bowler from the Patriots dynasty of recent years to be tied to performance-enhancing drugs. Safety Rodney Harrison was suspended for the first four games of the 2007 season for violating the NFL's policy on steroids and related substances. Harrison's violation was related to purchasing human growth hormone over the internet.
According to the Boston Globe, the prosecution's court filing says the following about Izzo:
"Mr. Izzo will testify that he was a professional football player and that he first contacted Greg Anderson by phone in approximately January 2003," the prosecution's court filing states. "Mr. Izzo will also testify that he first met Anderson in person in approximately May 2003 at BALCO and submitted a urine sample at BALCO at Anderson's request. Mr. Izzo will also testify that [he] submitted additional urine samples to Anderson at later times as well.
"Mr. Izzo will also testify about receiving performance-enhancing substances from Anderson, about instructions from Anderson about how to administer the substances, about the schedule Anderson gave to him for administering the substances, and about what Mr. Anderson told him about the efficacy of those substances."
The fallout from the BALCO case has mostly been limited to Major League Baseball and track and field, but the involvement of NFL players in BALCO was significant. In addition to Izzo, NFL players who have been tied in some way to BALCO include former Chief Johnnie Morton, former Falcon Artie Ulmer and former Raiders Barret Robbins, Chris Cooper, Dana Stubblefield, Bill Romanowski, Chris Hetherington, Tyrone Wheatley and Josh Taves.
