BALCO Lab Founder Victor Conte Dies at 75: Revisiting the Steroid Scandal That Changed Sports

Victor Conte, the founder of Bay Area Laboratory Co‑operative (BALCO) and a central figure in one of the most significant performance-enhancing drug scandals in modern sports, has died aged 75.

His company Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC) confirmed the news on social media with a caption: 'His legacy will carry forward, strong and forever.'

Earlier this year, Conte had publicly revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was announced in June that he would begin chemotherapy treatments, which are expected to last at least three months.

Inside the BALCO Scandal

Conte founded BALCO in 1984 as a lab offering blood and urine testing and legal supplements to athletes. Over time, the operation grew to include high-profile clients in baseball, track and boxing.

By the early 2000s, BALCO had become associated with undetectable steroids, substances used by professional athletes and referred to in the media as 'the clear' and 'the cream.'

In 2003, a federal investigation uncovered a widespread performance-enhancing drug network linked to Conte's BALCO, which supplied steroids to elite athletes across baseball, athletics, and boxing.

The revelations severely damaged the reputations of many high-profile sports figures, including baseball players Barry Bonds, and Jason and Jeremy Giambi, track and field athlete Marion Jones, boxer Shane Mosley and more.

During the federal probe, Bonds testified before a grand jury about two undetectable steroid drugs, 'the clear' and 'the cream,' that he reportedly received from his trainer, Greg Anderson.

The clear was a liquid steroid that was placed under the tongue, and the cream was based on testosterone and was intended to hide the use of steroids.

Bonds admitted to taking both drugs, but said he was informed they were just an arthritis balm and flaxseed oil.

Conte later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering, serving a four-month prison sentence in 2005 alongside Anderson.

The 2023 Netflix documentary Untold: Hall of Shame later detailed the scandal's profound effects on professional sports, focussing on how Conte's manufactured medications altered the face of contemporary athletics.

Following his imprisonment, Conte changed his public position to support legal sports nutrition and anti-doping initiatives by founding SNAC Nutrition. He became involved with boxing training and testing programmes, presenting himself as a rehabilitated actor in the sports science industry.

From Villain to Reformer?

News of Conte's death has sparked mixed reactions across the sporting world, highlighting his complicated legacy. The man once criticised as the mastermind of the BALCO steroid scandal later sought redemption through his work with elite boxers, advocating for cleaner competition and stricter anti-doping regulations.

Tim Montgomery, the former sprinter who worked with Conte before his own doping ban, reflected on their previous partnership.

While acknowledging Conte's role in the scandal, he told USA Today that athletes like himself were 'willing participants,' suggesting the problem ran deeper than one man's actions.

In recent years, Conte had shifted focus to legitimate sports science through his company SNAC Nutrition, which worked with champions such as Terence Crawford, Claressa Shields, and Devin Haney.

Bill Haney, Devin's father and manager, described Conte as a 'vanguard' in boxing's effort to clean up the sport, praising his influence on nutrition and athlete transparency. Shields also paid tribute on social media, writing: 'RIP @VictorConte. You fought hard.'

However, not everyone thought Conte's transformation was real. Critics on social media argued that his pursuit of publicity never waned, with some accusing him being too close to the drug culture he had previously taken advantage of.

'He wanted the limelight,' Montgomery told USA Today, expressing doubt about whether Conte had fully moved on from his past.

The contrasting reactions reflect the enduring debate over Conte's role in modern sport, whether as a warning story, a reformer, or both. As Adam Abramowitz of the Boxing Writers Association of America wrote on X, 'I'm not sure where Victor Conte falls on the hero/villain axis as it relates to boxing. But he was a very intelligent man with a lot of talent.'