By: E&P Staff Mark Fainaru-Wada, one half of the San Francisco Chronicle reporting team that broke the BALCO steroids scandal, is leaving the daily to join ESPN, a published report said late Monday.
Fainaru-Wada's departure, which was confirmed by a Chronicle spokesperson, was first reported by MarketWatch Chicago reporter David B. Wilkerson.
He and colleague Lance Williams in 2004 broke the story that some Major League Baseball players, including stars such as all-time home run champion Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, had obtained steroids from BALCO, a provider of supplements for atheletes known formally as the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.
Giambi admitted to a grand jury that he had taken steroids obtained from BALCO, the Chronicle reported, citing transcripts of the testamony. Bonds has publicly denied taking steroids or other illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
This would be the second big hire of a name journalist by ESPN in recent weeks. Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly is joining the sports network, which also publishes ESPN the Magazine, at the end of the year.
An ESPN spokesperson told MarketWatch that the company had no "nothing to announce at this time."
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