Oakland Raiders running back Tyrone Wheatley hit a photographer outside a federal courthouse Thursday, hours before he appeared in front of a grand jury investigating a nutritional supplements laboratory.
Wheatley was one of five NFL players -- including four Raiders -- to appear Thursday before the panel. Others included former NFL defensive player of the year Dana Stubblefield and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Johnnie Morton.
Also appearing before the grand jury was Marion Jones, who won an unprecedented five track medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"I can't make any comment, you guys. I would if I could, but I can't," Jones said as she left the grand jury room following her afternoon appearance.
Wheatley threatened and cursed at a group of photographers and TV cameramen outside the building, then raised his right fist and slapped photographer Noah Berger hard on the right wrist after Berger took a photo of him Thursday morning.
Berger, a freelance photographer on assignment for The Associated Press, said he was not hurt. He filed a report, but it was not clear whether Wheatley would be charged.
Wheatley declined to comment when asked about the incident. Stubblefield and Morton also declined comment.
The five football players were the first non-track and field athletes to testify in the case. Dozens of other athletes, including baseball's Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and boxer Shane Mosley, also have been subpoenaed.
An appearance before the grand jury, or being subpoenaed to testify, does not mean an athlete is a target of the probe.
Federal officials have refused to discuss the grand jury or the scope of its secret proceedings, but two sources familiar with the grand jury have said the probe is focusing on drug use by athletes as well as possible tax evasion by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.
An attorney for BALCO founder Victor Conte has said his client is a target of the investigation.
BALCO also is at the center of an investigation by anti-doping agencies into the newly discovered steroid THG. An unidentified coach who turned in a used syringe containing THG said he got the substance from Conte, who has denied being the source of the substance.
At least five track and field athletes already have tested positive for THG, and face two-year bans.
Also Thursday, Major League Baseball announced that it will begin imposing penalties for steroid use next year, after more than 5 percent of tests on players this year came back positive for steroids.
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Wheatley was one of five NFL players -- including four Raiders -- to appear Thursday before the panel. Others included former NFL defensive player of the year Dana Stubblefield and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Johnnie Morton.
Also appearing before the grand jury was Marion Jones, who won an unprecedented five track medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"I can't make any comment, you guys. I would if I could, but I can't," Jones said as she left the grand jury room following her afternoon appearance.
Wheatley threatened and cursed at a group of photographers and TV cameramen outside the building, then raised his right fist and slapped photographer Noah Berger hard on the right wrist after Berger took a photo of him Thursday morning.
Berger, a freelance photographer on assignment for The Associated Press, said he was not hurt. He filed a report, but it was not clear whether Wheatley would be charged.
Wheatley declined to comment when asked about the incident. Stubblefield and Morton also declined comment.
The five football players were the first non-track and field athletes to testify in the case. Dozens of other athletes, including baseball's Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and boxer Shane Mosley, also have been subpoenaed.
An appearance before the grand jury, or being subpoenaed to testify, does not mean an athlete is a target of the probe.
Federal officials have refused to discuss the grand jury or the scope of its secret proceedings, but two sources familiar with the grand jury have said the probe is focusing on drug use by athletes as well as possible tax evasion by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.
An attorney for BALCO founder Victor Conte has said his client is a target of the investigation.
BALCO also is at the center of an investigation by anti-doping agencies into the newly discovered steroid THG. An unidentified coach who turned in a used syringe containing THG said he got the substance from Conte, who has denied being the source of the substance.
At least five track and field athletes already have tested positive for THG, and face two-year bans.
Also Thursday, Major League Baseball announced that it will begin imposing penalties for steroid use next year, after more than 5 percent of tests on players this year came back positive for steroids.
www.sfgate.com
