Suspended Pitcher Sues Supplement Makers, Retailers

PHILADELPHIA—J.C. Romero, the Phillies relief pitcher suspended for 50 days following a mid-2008 failed drug test, has filed lawsuits against GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Ergopharm and Proviant Technologies for misleading practices contributing to his positive drug test.

Romero alleged employees at both GNC and Vitamin Shoppe advised assured him the supplement 6-OXO Extreme would not trigger a positive test for the Major League Baseball (MLB) star. The supplement was created by former BALCO chemist Patrick Arnold, who owns and operates both Proviant and Ergopharm, which is on the product's label.

In his lawsuit, filed in N.J. Superior court, Romero is suing for negligence, intentional misrepresentation, and consumer fraud. He claims the 6-OXO supplement contained traces of unlabeled androstenedione, which is banned by FDA for sale as a supplement, which caused his failed drug test. He maintains, as he did in his failed bid to overturn his MLB suspension, that this contaminated product not only caused this suspension, but also damaged his reputation and resulted in a $1.3 million forfeiture of his salary. In fact, he had the product sent to a lab in Tennessee, which reportedly verified the existence of androstenedione in the supplement.

None of the defendants named in the lawsuit would offer a comment. MLB officials noted it offers its baseball players a hotline to call and et information on if particular supplements are known to cause positive drug tests, adding 6-OXO was on MLB's list of such risky products.