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Hooded steroid witness to talk

Friday, July 09, 2004

The star attraction at a Senate hearing on steroids next week will be the one you can't see.

Senate officials said yesterday that an NCAA Division I football player from "a big-time school that consistently competes for the national championship" will appear before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control on Tuesday, but with a hood over his head.

The anonymous witness is expected to talk about how extensive steroid use is among elite college football players. The hearing has been called to investigate steroid use among high school, college and Olympic athletes, but it is sure to cause consternation in Major League Baseball since it will be held the same day as MLB's All-Star game in Houston. Commissioner Bud Selig does not like when baseball's showcase events have to compete with bad news, and the hearing may draw attention to baseball's much-criticized steroids program.