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Former 49er becomes first NFL BALCO steroid culprit

Former NFL football player Dana Stubblefield, front, leaves a federal courthouse with his attorney Mike Armstrong in San Francisco on Friday. PHOTO: AP

Former San Francisco 49ers defender Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to federal agents about taking performance-enhancing drugs, becoming US football's first BALCO steroid scandal culprit.

The lies that Stubblefield confessed to making in November of 2003 came only three days after he had tested positive for steroids.

US District Judge Susan Illston will sentence Stubblefield on April 25. He could receive up to six months under terms of his plea bargain with prosecutors but Illston is not bound by the terms of the agreement.

Stubblefield admitted that he did not tell investigators in the BALCO scandal investigation that he used steroids from BALCO just three days after learning he tested positive for the once-undetectable steroid known as the "clear."

The test would have led to a four-game suspension had Stubblefield not retired.

Stubblefield, 37, was taken by the 49ers in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft and was named the NFL defensive rookie of the year. He played for the 49ers through 1997 and later for the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders.
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