Greg F. Anderson (born February 1966) is an American

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

, best known for his work with

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

, and links with

BALCO The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) (1984–2003) was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later re ...

Biography

Early life

When Anderson was 10 years old, his father died after being shot during a gambling dispute. Anderson and Barry Bonds began a lifelong friendship when the two played middle-school baseball together in California. Bonds flourished as the team's star, while Anderson struggled to get playing time. In college, Anderson began an obsession with weight-lifting and spent long hours in the gym. He played college baseball at

Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a public university in Hays, Kansas. It is the fourth-largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with a total enrollment of approximately 15,100 students. History FHSU w ...

in Hays, Kansas with moderate success, but was advised by his coach to find a career outside of professional baseball. Soon after, Anderson moved back to California where he spent most of his time at the

World Gym World Gym International LLC is an American fitness center founded in 1976 by Joe Gold during the glory days of " Muscle Beach" in Venice Beach, California. Joe Gold is also the founder of Gold's Gym, another gym chain, which he sold in 1973. The g ...

, now known as Diesel Fitness, only a few blocks away from BALCO.

Steroid troubles

Anderson allegedly began providing Bonds with

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

in 1998. He was also linked in this regard to both

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

and

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played right ...

, through his connections with Bonds. Despite this information, the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, allegedly in order to appease Bonds, did not bar Anderson from Giants' facilities. On July 15, 2005, Anderson, in a deal with federal prosecutors, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and to money-laundering. On October 18, 2005, he was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge

Susan Illston Susan Yvonne Illston (born June 24, 1948) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the Senate in 1995. She ...

to three months in prison and three months' home confinement. Anderson and his steroid dealings are referred to in the book ''

Game of Shadows ''Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports'' is a bestselling non-fiction book published on March 23, 2006, and written by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, reporters for the ''San Franc ...

'', which documents the steroid use of many Major League Baseball players and other notable athletes.

Contempt of Court

On July 5, 2006, Anderson was found in

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

by U.S. District Judge

William Alsup William Haskell Alsup (born June 27, 1945) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Early life and career Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Alsup received a Bachelor of ...

for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating perjury accusations against San Francisco Giants' player Barry Bonds. Bonds appeared before a grand jury investigating the BALCO steroids case in December 2003 and is reported to have denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. Anderson, denied bail, was immediately sent to the Federal Correctional Institution in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, California. Anderson's attorney,

Mark Geragos Mark John Geragos (born October 5, 1957) is an American criminal defense lawyer and the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos, in Los Angeles. Early life and education Geragos was born in Los Angeles, California, where he attended Flintridge Pr ...

, said he would file an appeal based on his assertion that the subpoena to testify violated Anderson's plea bargain agreement in the BALCO case. On July 20, 2006, Anderson was released when the grand jury's term expired without indicting Bonds. However, Anderson was immediately subpoenaed to testify before a new grand jury that took up the case. Anderson's attorney, Mark Geragos, stated that Anderson would still refuse to testify, and on August 28, Anderson was again found in contempt of court and sentenced to prison. On November 15, 2007, a federal judge ordered Anderson released from prison. This order came just hours after Bonds was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.

Further legal troubles

On January 28, 2009, twenty federal agents raided the home of Anderson's mother-in-law; both she and Anderson's wife are the targets of a tax probe. Anderson's attorney

says that he believes the probe is in retaliation for Anderson's continued refusal to say if he will testify in the upcoming 2009 Bonds

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

trial. Federal prosecutors have asked the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, to find Anderson in contempt of court and have him detained in federal prison for the length of the upcoming trial. On March 22, 2011, Anderson was reincarcerated in the

Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin The Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin (FCI Dublin) is a low-security United States federal prison for female inmates in Dublin, California. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp housing minimum-security female offender ...

on fresh contempt charges for refusing to testify at Bond's perjury trial.Bonds' former trainer jailed for refusal to testify
csnbayarea.com, March 22, 2011 He was released as of April 8, 2011.

References

External links

Excerpt from ''Game of Shadows'' Recent news of Anderson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Greg 1966 births Living people American money launderers American people convicted of drug offenses Drugs in sport in the United States Fort Hays State University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Major League Baseball controversies Doping in baseball