Notes: Washington Nationals, Capitals Named in Steroid Bust

Washington, D.C., we have a sports problem.

Samara Sodos of the Washington Times reports that a Florida couple recently-busted with way too many firearms, rounds of ammunition, and thousands of doses of steroids sold the drugs to Washington Capitals hocket players and Washington Nationals baseball players:

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is reviewing a case against two alleged steroid dealers, but agency spokesman Steve Cole said he can’t speculate on if or when charges will be filed.

Polk Count Sheriff’s deputies said they have plenty of evidence that Richard “Andy” Thomas and his wife, Sandra, were big-time steroid dealers. But they’re still trying to determine whether Richard Thomas was telling the truth when he said he is the biggest steroid provider in Central Florida and that he sold mostly to professional athletes, including those on the Washington Capitals hockey team and Washington Nationals baseball team.

The Thomases, who live in Lakeland, were arrested Tuesday after a tip from the Philadelphia office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Sheriff Grady Judd said that detectives seized an estimated $200,000 in illegal steroids when the pair was arrested.

Now, in anti-Black athlete news on ESPN.com’s homepage, the tenth headline on their list this morning reads,”UK recruit Wall pleads guilty to misdemeanor.”

It is a holdover from yesterday’s headlines.

Interestingly, the headline with the four-paragraph, 100-word blurb is, “Wall Could Have Record cleared.” Because the incident was so minor that Wall was never arrested and received but a citation from the on-site officer, it is surprising that the case went this far, that Wall did not receive the proverbial, slap on the wrist reprimand from the judge in the case. 

Strangely, or maybe not-so, the steroids story is nowhere to be found on ESPN.com’s homepage. And within the web pages of ESPN.com there is no mention of this potentially devastating steroids story involving the all-White and Hispanic – save for Willie Harris – Nationals on the Major League Baseball homepage, while it is the fifth-most important headline on the all-White save for Donald Brashear Capitals NHL homepage.

The Capitals’ management went into defense mode immediately:

“The Washington Capitals have no knowledge of any aspect of this allegation. Capitals players were subjected to no-notice testing three times in each of the past two seasons pursuant to the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and there was no indication of any improper conduct or wrongdoing,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.

“Even though there are no specifics provided in the story and we have no reason, at this point, to believe the allegations are true, the National Hockey League takes all matters of this nature very seriously and will conduct a prompt investigation.”…

Dick Patrick, Washington Capitals president, said his team has no reason to believe Thomas’ allegations have merit. But he also said his team takes such accusations seriously.

“Capitals players have fully participated in the NHL’s random drug testing program, and at no point has a Capitals player tested positive,” Patrick said in a statement. “In addition our players have been tested at international events, such as World Championships and Olympics. We welcome and will fully cooperate with the NHL’s investigation.”

Meantime, neither Major League Baseball nor Nationals’ management returned calls, which is their way of warding off queries from anyone else, and a clear message to major sports news outlets like ESPN to back of until the honchos in the league office decide how to respond to the accusations.

This could, obviously be a huge story involving many athletes form the two teams from the same city. That a couple in Winter Park, Florida which is suburb of Orlando and is right up Highway 4 from Lakeland and the infamous Signature Pharmacy of steroid and HGH fame is naming athletes from two teams 1500 miles away is damning. It is implausible that the pair closed their eyes, pointed to a spot on a map of the U.S., and it was Washington, D.C. – and they decided to tell law enforcement officials that athletes from the baseball and hockey teams bought drugs from them.

It is equally implausible that the seditors at ESPN.com did and do not find the story of enough importance to mention it anywhere on their homepage. But John Wall is.

Because the network airs MLB games they will allow baseball to silently let them know how many steps behind the story ESPN must be to protect their collective asses and remain in good stead with the league. Because the network has no financial broadcasting interest in the NHL the story can be mentioned on the NHL homepage, though it has been relegated to a status of “mild importance,” because ESPN wants to project and maintain the air of ruling the sporting world.

Let’s stay tuned and watch how this story turns.