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Victor Conte, the central figure in one of the biggest performance-enhancing drug scandals in sports history, has died at age 75.
Conte’s company, Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC), announced his death in a post on X, saying he had been battling pancreatic cancer.
“We are Heartbroken by the Passing of our Fearless Leader,” the post stated. “We will Honor his Wishes. SNAC and his Legacy will Carry Forward, Strong and Forever. We LOVE you, Conte!”
Conte’s prior venture, BALCO, made national headlines in 2003 when federal agents raided the business as well as his Northern California home as part of an investigation into the steroids scandal that rocked multiple sports leagues, most notably Major League Baseball.
He later pleaded guilty in 2005 to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering, admitting to supplying performance-enhancing drugs to several high-profile athletes, including Barry Bonds, baseball’s home run king, and Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones.
While Conte expressed remorse for his role, he also reflected on his controversial legacy in a Netflix documentary:
“When Marion Jones hit the finish line and won the gold medal, when Barry Bonds hit all these home runs, you know, any of these great accomplishments, those are things that I’ll always be proud of.”
Conte ended up serving four months in a low-security federal prison in California as part of his sentencing.
Conte’s SNAC developed and sold natural supplements, but he wasn’t completely blackballed from sports. He was an advisor in the boxing world, with clients including Terence “Bud” Crawford and Claressa Shields.
That doesn’t mean Conte didn’t still have detractors, as Crawford’s most recent fight against Canelo Alvarez brought about skeptics who believed he might be cheating with Conte on his team.
“Please don’t stress the negativity of my past too much,” Conte said, via USA TODAY before Crawford’s unanimous victory over Alvarez to make him a three-belt champion.
Conte was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May, but continued working with athletes from his hospital bed in his final months.
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