Monday, January 26, 2009

Barbershoppers Named As BALCO Clients

The 5th Wheel confirmed a report has been released by the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) naming members of the Barbershop Harmony Society who have received muscle enhancing drugs from BALCO (Bay Area Lab Co-Operative).

In 2006, the USADA began investigating International gold medalist Tim Waurick after receiving an annonymous phone call from another member of the Society accusing Waurick of using the steroid tetrahydrogestrinone, a.k.a "The Clear", an anabolic steroid that aids in the growth of muscle tissue. The accuser whose identity was not released, however his voice sounds a lot like Sylvester Stallone, protested that in the 2006 International Competition Waurick's use of The Clear gave his quartet Vocal Spectrum an added benefit in beating second place finalist MaxQ. The 5th Wheel contacted Waurick who neither confirmed nor denied the use of The Clear. However, he did point out that he recently posted a note for one minute and five seconds.

Waurick is not the only member of the B.H.S. to be named in the report. Other barbershoppers include Tony DeRosa (Member of Keepsake, Platinum and MaxQ), Joe Hunter (Four Under Par and Reveille) and Todd Kidder (Kidder & Sons Inc, Freestyle and VocalEase). The 5th Wheel has tried to contact the Society Headquarters for an interview, however they haven't returned our phone calls.

The 5th Wheel has noticed over the past decade that more and more quartets find it necessary to post long tags in order to win contests. Whether it's due to drug enhancements or that judges reward quartets for posting long notes remains to be seen.


Other famous atheletes who have been named as clients to BALCO include Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Marion Jones and C.J. Hunter.




No comments: