February 27, 2005

Texas Tech confesses to supplement violations

Texas Tech confessed to providing illegal supplements to athletes. The report by athletic director Gerald Myers and faculty athletics representative Robert Baker details 15 illegal supplements that were purchased for athletes over a two and half year span.

As we detailed back in December:

Coach Mike Leach approved orders of Ephedra and other stimulants in 2002 and 2003, despite a 1997 NCAA ban against the substance.

The records reflect that Tech ordered Thermo Speed (340 milligrams of ephedra per 20-ounce bottle), Jacked (200 milligrams of caffeine per bottle) and Power Drive, advertised as containing guarana and green tea extract, which both are sources of caffeine.

New to the mix is a confirmation that Texas Tech also four products containing creatine and a product identified only as "Testosterone Booster." The most popular testosterone booster is "andro", which was banned by the NCAA in 1997.

Given the current steroid flap in baseball, the Red Raiders could get a heavy penalty despite having fired the trainer that ordered the illegal supplements. The big hiccup here is that Mike Leach's signature is on the orders. Not good.

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