If you read Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, you know most of the significant details in Netflix’s Untold: Hall of Shame. The 2006 landmark investigative bestseller, subtitled Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports, took us deep inside the cloak-and-dagger world of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). There had never been a book that nuanced on that topic. There hasn’t been one like it since.
It has been over two decades since the start of the federal investigation into steroid use in sports, which involved many of the biggest names in athletics. This recent release from the Untold docuseries revisits the scandal that drew the attention of the highest levels of government.
Featured prominently throughout this 78-minute film is Victor Conte. Almost overnight, the former BALCO founder became one of the most infamous people in America. Conte served a four-month prison sentence for his role in illegal steroid distribution. After being released from jail in 2006, he said Game of Shadows was “full of outright lies” and denied giving Barry Bonds PEDs.
If you think the passage of time has made the 73-year-old Conte remorseful, you’d be wrong. In Hall of Shame, Conte comes across as brash, defiant, and simply not believable. In one breath, he reiterates his claim that he never provided Bonds with steroids. In another, he acknowledges that he gave Bonds’ trainer Greg Anderson the previously undetectable steroid called ”The Clear.’
That’s quite the technicality. Anderson, who might be the greatest best friend in the history of friends, went to jail multiple times for refusing to testify against Bonds.
In the documentary, Conte acknowledges that it was “likely” that Bonds took steroids. There is a mountain of circumstantial evidence against Bonds, who has repeatedly denied the use of PEDs.
Conte tries to drive the narrative that his goal was to maximize athlete performance. He still doesn’t believe that he did anything wrong and even brags in the documentary about how 40 of the 42 federal charges against BALCO were dropped. While that’s a legal victory, he did enter a guilty plea for conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and money laundering.
Conte also hammers lead federal investigator Jeff Novitzky whom he believes was the source for much of the leaks to the press. Novitzky denies this in the documentary and says that Conte cannot trusted or believed. Conte’s lack of credibility is obvious in Hall of Shame. Still, director Bryan Storkel gives him too much leeway. Plus, the inclusion of Conte’s daughter Veronica Schumacher seems like a flimsy attempt to polish his image.
Several athletes were caught up in the BALCO scandal. Former Olympic sprinter Tim Montgomery was the only one who sat down for an interview in Storkel’s film. His participation is by far the best part of the documentary. He comes across as the polar opposite of Conte: honest and contrite. Montgomery explains in detail the hows and whys behind his PED use. He set a world record in the 100-meter dash that was later stripped.
He says in Hall of Shame: “I told Victor Conte, I don’t care if I die. I want to see what it feels like to be the greatest at any cost possible. It’s almost like selling your soul to the devil.”
It’s important to note that Conte and Montgomery had a falling out before the scandal exploded, so viewers might want to take some of his comments with a grain of salt.
BALCO changed sports. Now, there is more rigorous testing but the cheaters will always be ahead of enforcement. Athletes are highly competitive people who are looking for any edge, especially when millions of dollars are at stake.
Hall of Shame looks back at a pivotal time. You just wish it offered a different perspective other than rehashing the fact that a bunch of famous sports figures got caught.
