Is Tiger Woods getting a free pass on this Galea steroids indictment thing?

So this is kind of confusing: Why are many people so willing to believe any woman who calls a press conference and claims to be Tiger Woods Mistress No. (pick a number); yet, when it comes to steroids, practically no one believes Tiger is juicing it. Hey, I’m not saying that I think Tiger is bulking up in Barry Bonds fashion. But recent developments have opened the floor for questions, haven’t they? Canadian Dr. Anthony Galea was indicted by the feds on Wednesday, accused of providing HGH to three NFL players (as yet unnamed). When questions of Galea’s ties to Woods first came up last year, the doctor was quick to dismiss PED accusations thusly:

According to a December 14 piece in the New York Times, Galea “said he did not use actovegin to treat [Tiger] Woods or other United States athletes.” Testimony in the affidavit from the anonymous NFL players runs contrary to those claims, but there is no indication that Woods received any treatment containing HGH or actovegin.

From the golf blog Waggle Room:

The filing states that Galea crossed over the border into the United States on at least 30 occasions between 2007 and September 2009. Galea told his associate that he was “flagged” in February 2009 and told by border agents that he could not bring medical supplies into the United States. When questioned by authorities at the border, Galea “told inspectors that he was a sports doctor giving a medical lecture in Florida and had medical equipment for the lecture he was giving in Florida.”

The NY Times notes that Galea claims he worked with Woods on at least four occasions in Woods’ Florida home in February and March of 2009. It remains unclear if the February 2009 incident described in the court filing pertains directly to Galea’s treatment of Woods or to another of his clients.

Tiger Woods has not yet clearly detailed the duration of his relationship with Galea, but has consistently denied the use of any performance-enhancing drugs. His former swing coach Hank Haney has also denied Woods’ use or association with PEDs.

Well, you know, Tiger Woods has denied a lot of things in recent months. He’s kind of used up his credibility in that regard. It is possible, however, that his treatments by Galea are purely innocent; swimmer Dana Torres, for instance, says that Galea drained fluid from her knee and helped diagnose a quad tear in 2009. All on the up-and-up. Other athletes also swear by him, and claim that no shenanigans are taking place. But consider this excerpt from a 2009 NY Times article:

Dr. Galea said he treated Mr. Woods in his home four or five times with a borrowed centrifuge from an Orlando doctor. Each time, he said he drew blood from Woods, spun it to increase the platelets’ count and then injected a small amount directly into Mr. Woods’s left knee.

Two days after the first treatment, Woods texted him, Dr. Galea said: “He said he couldn’t believe how good he feels. He’d joke and say, ‘I can jump up on the kitchen table,’ and I said, ‘Please don’t.’ “

No little HGH cocktail involved there, doc? In that same article, there’s this:

Dr. Galea said Mr. Woods was referred to him by the golfer’s agents at Cleveland-based International Management Group, who were alarmed at the slow pace of Mr. Woods’s rehabilitation after knee surgery in June 2008. The doctor said he flew to Orlando, Fla., at least four times to give Mr. Woods the platelet therapy at his home in Windermere, Fla., in February and March of this year. When asked for comment about Mr. Woods’s involvement with Dr. Galea, Mark Steinberg, of I.M.G., responded in an e-mail message: “I would really ask that you guys don’t write this? If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won’t be, let’s please give the kid a break.”

So we have the combination of a doctor indicted by the feds for providing steroids to professional athletes; that same doctor having treated Woods on numerous occasions and getting “miraculous” results; and Woods’ management group “alarmed at the slow pace” of his knee rehabilitation in 2008. Never, folks, underestimate the influence of a nervous management group. All of that may not be a downright Steroid Guilt Cocktail, but it certainly begs more questions, doesn’t it?
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Anthony Galea, Doctor to Tiger Woods and A-Rod, Accused of Illegally Treating NFL Players, HGH Involved [CBS News]
Tiger Woods Doctor Accused of Giving NFL Players HGH [Bloomberg]
Sports Medicine Pioneer Subject of Doping Inquiry [The New York Times]
What the Galea Indictment May Tell Us About His Relationship with Tiger Woods [Waggle Room]