Marlon Byrd, a Rangers outfielder, fully understands that fans, media and some of his peers in baseball might be prejudicial or would question his decision to use supplements from Victor Conte, who is considered as the brains behind the BALCO steroid scandal. It was reported on Yahoo Sports last Thursday that Byrd considers his decision as the right thing for his career. Others may think that the player might be subjecting himself to the risk of testing positive for a banned substance. However, he countered this by saying that Conte’s help lessens that chance. “People are going to question it. Of course, they are,” Byrd said. “His supplements work for me. The things that I’m taking are subtle supplements to play the game. It’s weird to say, but it’s safer, in my opinion. “I’ve never been labeled a cheater. I know Victor has. If I was doing something wrong, do you think I would have come out with it? I’m being honest,” he added.

It his career, he has also seen players being suspended particularly Philadelphia reliever J.C. Romero for taking over-the-counter supplements from stores such as GNC. The Rangers recommends that players must use supplements that are certified by the National Sanitation Foundation. It is noted that Conte’s supplements are not certified by the said foundation and Byrd said that these supplements go through the same manufacturing audits as NSF’s approved products. However, NSF contested that it has never certified the products of Conte. The NSF company policy states that anybody who manufactures a steroid, steroid precursor or banned substance on the NFL, MLB, and the World Anti-Doping Agency lists will be excluded from the NSF program.

The MLB will test a supplement at a player’s request and the league will inform the player if it is safe to use. Byrd said that it is the same procedure that Conte has done with the supplements he provides. General Manager Jon Daniels on the other hand wishes to talk to Byrd about his relationship with Conte. “Marlon’s a veteran player who is a grown man and can make his own choices,” Daniels said. “I don’t want our young players thinking it’s OK to experiment with over-the-counter products that aren’t regulated.”

Meanwhile, Victor Conte revealed that Byrd is not the only athlete who is using the supplements. Conte told Mike Fish of ESPN.com that “there are NFL players.””There are Olympic track and field athletes. There are Olympic swimmers. We’re talking about medalists. These people routinely buy from SNAC [Conte's company, Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning]. How do I know? Because I recognize these names.”

But Conte refused to give names because of his fears that players would be ostracized. Conte also supplied banned performance-enhancing drugs to Barry Bonds, baseball’s all-time home run leader, and is also linked to a number of athletes in other sports during his days at BALCO.

“There are NFL players having product directly shipped to team facilities or to their homes,” he said. “But I don’t think it is fair to the players to go into detail. I don’t think it was fair to [British sprinter] Dwain Chambers or Marlon Byrd, either. Enough harm has been caused to players associated with myself. It wouldn’t be right for me to offer a list of professional athletes, but there are many.”

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