Report: Bonds told grand jury he unwittingly used steroids

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds testified to a grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer who was indicted in a steroid-distribution ring, but said he didn't know they were steroids, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

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Bonds told the federal grand jury last year that Greg Anderson, his personal trainer and childhood friend, told him the substances he used in 2003 were the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Chronicle.

The substances Bonds described were similar to ones known as "the clear" and "the cream," two steroids from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative at the center of the steroid scandal.

Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains, said Friday that the leak of grand jury testimony was an attempt to smear his client. Grand jury transcripts are sealed and the Chronicle did not say who showed them the documents.

Barry Bonds claimed he didn't know he was using a steroid.(Getty Images)

"Greg knew what Barry's demands were. Nothing illegal," Rains said at a news conference in Oakland. "This is Barry's best friend in the world. Barry trusted him. He trusts him today. He trusts that he never got anything illegal from Greg Anderson."

Even if the substances Bonds took were steroids, Rains said they were not banned by baseball at the time and the slugger believed they were natural. Bonds also maintains the substances did nothing to aid his rise as one of the game's greatest home-run hitters, Rains said.

"Barry was tested several times this year and the results of those tests were negative," said Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris.

"He put together statistically one of the most remarkable seasons ever," Borris said in an interview. "There are people in this world whose sole purpose is to try and figure out ways on how to undermine the accomplishments of others."

Giants spokesman Blake Rhodes said the team wouldn't comment and directed all questions to the commissioner's office.

Tony Serra, Anderson's lawyer, said Anderson "never knowingly provided illegal substances to anyone."

The revelation of Bonds' grand jury testimony was one of a series of developments in the BALCO probe, which led to indictments against four men in February.