The cream
Encyclopedia
"The cream" is a testosterone
-based ointment that is used in conjunction with anabolic steroids such as tetrahydrogestrinone
(THG, also known as "the clear") in order to mask doping
in professional athletes.
The drug was made public when the United States Anti-Doping Agency
was contacted by an anonymous athletics coach, later identified as Trevor Graham
, who claimed that several top athletes were using THG as an illegal performance enhancing drug. After an investigation, it was revealed that many top baseball
athletes were connected with THG; the list included stars such as Jason Giambi
, who would also confess to using human growth hormone and testosterone
, Gary Sheffield
, who admitted using the cream and the clear, albeit unknowingly.
When questioned about the substance, athletes said that the two substances were identified only as "the cream" and "the clear". It was later determined that the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative
, which supplied THG, had provided it in conjunction with "the cream" in order to mask its presence in doping tests. It had been distributed to several athletes by trainer Greg Anderson
.
from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) reveals that "the cream" was a composition of testosterone and epitestosterone
designed to increase the natural level of the steroid
testosterone while not disrupting the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, a common metric used in traditional drug tests.
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...
-based ointment that is used in conjunction with anabolic steroids such as tetrahydrogestrinone
Tetrahydrogestrinone
Tetrahydrogestrinone is an anabolic steroid developed by Patrick Arnold. It has affinity to the androgen receptor and the progesterone receptor, but not to the estrogen receptor...
(THG, also known as "the clear") in order to mask doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
in professional athletes.
The drug was made public when the United States Anti-Doping Agency
United States Anti-Doping Agency
The United States Anti-Doping Agency , is a non-profit organization and the national anti-doping organization for the United States. The organization is charged with managing the anti-doping program for the U.S...
was contacted by an anonymous athletics coach, later identified as Trevor Graham
Trevor Graham
Trevor Graham is a Jamaican-born former athletics coach, based in the United States. Following the BALCO scandal, the US Olympic Committee barred him indefinitely from all its training sites as a number of the athletes he was training had tested positive for drug abuse.-Athletics career:Graham was...
, who claimed that several top athletes were using THG as an illegal performance enhancing drug. After an investigation, it was revealed that many top baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
athletes were connected with THG; the list included stars such as Jason Giambi
Jason Giambi
Jason Gilbert Giambi is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage...
, who would also confess to using human growth hormone and testosterone
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...
, Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield , nicknamed "Sheff", is an American retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for eight major league ball clubs from 1988 to 2009, primarily as an outfielder.-Biography:...
, who admitted using the cream and the clear, albeit unknowingly.
When questioned about the substance, athletes said that the two substances were identified only as "the cream" and "the clear". It was later determined that the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative
Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative
The Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte, a former bass player for the soul band Tower of Power. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later referred to as the...
, which supplied THG, had provided it in conjunction with "the cream" in order to mask its presence in doping tests. It had been distributed to several athletes by trainer Greg Anderson
Greg Anderson (trainer)
Greg F. Anderson is a former personal trainer, best known for his work with Barry Bonds, and links with BALCO.-Early life:...
.
Composition
An affidavitAffidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) reveals that "the cream" was a composition of testosterone and epitestosterone
Epitestosterone
Epitestosterone is a natural steroid, an inactive epimer of the hormone testosterone. Structurally, it differs from testosterone only in the configuration at the OH-bearing carbon, C17...
designed to increase the natural level of the steroid
Steroid
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.The core...
testosterone while not disrupting the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, a common metric used in traditional drug tests.