Chris Bosh's off-season of headlines continues
After a summer filled with newfound publicity, former Raptors star Chris Bosh is the latest to join the list of athletes linked to infamous Canadian doctor Anthony Galea.
In a recent report released by Sports Illustrated, the 26-year-old supposedly visited Galea in 2009 before the start of training camp to deal with a left-hamstring injury.
Galea, the director of the Institute of Sports Medicine Health & Wellness Centre in Etobicoke, was charged in May by U.S. authorities with, among other things, smuggling and unlawful distribution of human growth hormone [HGH].
According to the article, two sources with knowledge of the situation said the newly signed Miami Heat forward received platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) from the doctor to address his ailment.
Last season, the Georgia Tech product would record his career best in points (24.0), rebounds (10.8) and field goal percentage (51.8), leading the Raptors to a disappointing 40-win campaign, a season which also included the team missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
In the article, Bosh released a statement through his agent, Henry Thomas, stating that PRP helped him get back into the starting lineup for the start of season.
The Raptors declined to comment due to privacy laws involving medical files of past or present players.
PRP has recently become a common healing method among professional athletes, due to the lack of side effects and its success treating ligament and muscle injuries.
The therapy is legal, as it can speed up healing, but is not believed to boost performance.
However, according to court documents revealed by SI, authorities believe Galea often mixed HGH with injections and suggested it was quite possible some of the athletes were totally unaware of the fact they were receiving unapproved drugs.
“No one in the world could ever suggest that Dr. Galea is involved in performance enhancement,” said Edward Greenspan, Galea’s lawyer, to Sports Illustrated.
The 51-year-old, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, was arrested on Aug. 15, 2009 in Toronto on charges of possessing HGH.
Bosh is not the only Canadian connection to Galea.
Figure skater, Patrick Chan, was said to have received similar PRP therapy to help expedite his recovery of a calf injury.
Former Olympic sprinter and 100-metre world record holder, Donavan Bailey, ruptured his left Achilles tendon in 1998 and returned less than two years later to run in under 10 seconds, claiming the doctor used therapies such as oxygen treatments to accelerate the sprinter’s recovery.
Along with the aforementioned patients, the Toronto-based doctor treated a long list of high profile athletes.
Most notably: Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Dana Torres, Jose Reyes and Huston Street.
All have released statements regarding they’re involvement with Galae, and strongly deny any illegal activity.