Ten years ago, The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigated LeBron James as part of a federal Biogenesis probe due to the potential involvement of his associates.
James was cleared of any wrong doing, but some interesting new public information has been obtained by ESPN’s Mike Fish.
“But what has not been publicly known until now — found in more than 1,400 pages of unredacted federal investigative documents obtained by ESPN — are the names of other athletes and figures, from world champion boxers and wrestlers to fitness gurus, entertainers and even law enforcement officials, who surfaced during the investigation of the largest doping operation in U.S. sports history,” Fish wrote.
“Among them are former WWE star Paul “The Big Show” Wight; former boxing champion Shannon Briggs; one of the most well-known trainers of prominent athletes in David Alexander; and Ernest “Randy” Mims, a longtime friend and business manager of LeBron James.”
Federal authorities told ESPN that they found no evidence to suggest that Alexander or Mims gave PEDs to athletes – including LeBron, but because of his association with the pair, James was also looked into.
Mims has held several key roles for LeBron, including at the Lakers and Cavs and the investigation found he had been purchasing testosterone, boosting injections and a blood draw from Carlos Acevedo for his “personal use”.
Avevedo was a known dealer of performance-enhancing substances and a target of the investigation.
Mims was referred to Acevedo by Alexander – who got substances for free in return for referrals.
Alexander has in the past been named as LeBron’s trainer, but Fish has uncovered documents that say otherwise.
“In fact, although it had been widely reported that James worked at times with Alexander while playing for the Heat and later the Cleveland Cavaliers, that was not how the documents referred to the trainer,” Fish wrote. “Rather, they identified Miami-based Alexander as the personal trainer of James’ wife. (State incorporation documents show she and Alexander also co-owned a cold-pressed juice and smoothie business at the time.) Stanfill, the former DEA investigator, said that because of the duo’s connection, the DEA examined whether Alexander’s actions had any connection to James and determined that they did not. “I can tell you that we looked into everything just because we knew this day would come … She wasn’t getting any supplements, anything like that. … There was never any indication that LeBron James did anything wrong.
“Until approached by ESPN last November, a James representative said he had no knowledge that his name, his wife or his associates had ever been referenced in the Biogenesis investigation.”
It is not the first time LeBron’s name has been brought up in relation to PEDs, since former UFC star and self-confessed drug cheat Chael Sonnen, claimed earlier this year that he and LeBron even have the same “drug guy”.