Apparently, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was subpoenaed in the case of Canadian Dr Anthony Galea. Galea, who is not licensed to practice in the U.S. is under investigation for smuggling HGH into the country.
Reyes isn’t the only one to be subpoenaed. The list is long and the athletes on it are quite high-profile. At this point though, Reyes is the only baseball player whose name has come to light:
The doctor’s client list is elite; it includes Tiger Woods, U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, Broncos quarterback Chris Simms, former Browns running back Jamal Lewis, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and Donovan Bailey of Canada, who won the 100 meters at the 1996 Olympics.
All the athletes, of course, deny using HGH or any performance enhancing substances provided by Galea.
What does this mean for Reyes? Assuming he’s innocent (a prudent assumption until other evidence comes to light), it will be a distraction and depending how long this lasts, at a critical time in the pre-season. It can only delay his season development with the Mets.
Reyes has already met with the FBI who came to the Port St Lucie spring training grounds. And when federal officials start visiting ballparks, the media is right behind them. Not just the normal sports media but news media, too.
If you’re wondering, Reyes went on record denying any involvement with HGH:
"They asked me if he injected me with that. I say ‘No,’" Reyes said. "What we do there, basically, he took my blood out, put it in some machines, spin it out and put it back in my leg. So I explained to them that."
Now Tiger Woods, this is the kind of distraction he probably needs.