- LeBron James was briefly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration
- The DEA probe into steroid distribution ultimately cleared James of wrongdoing
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The Drug Enforcement Administration came across LeBron James’ name as part of the agency’s 2013 Biogenesis probe into allegations of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports, according to federal documents obtained by ESPN.
The investigation ultimately cleared James, who was playing for the Miami Heat at the time.
‘There was never any indication that LeBron James did anything wrong,’ the lead DEA investigator told ESPN.
James was included in the investigation due to his connections to two other suspects: The NBA star’s former trainer, David Alexander, and his long-time friend and manager, Randy Mims.
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The DEA claims to have found that Mims obtained testosterone for personal use from a dealer known as Carlos Acevedo. Mims was allegedly referred to Acevedo by Alexander.
LeBron James and Randy Mims arrive at South Beach Battioke 2014 at Fillmore Miami Beach
The DEA claims Mims obtained testosterone for personal use from Carlos Acevedo (pictured)
Other names included WWE’s Paul ‘The Big Show’ Wight (L) and boxer Shannon Briggs (R)
Mims was reportedly only a client of Acevedo’s for a few months.
‘[He’s] apparently an overweight guy,’ the DEA’s Kevin Stanfill told ESPN. ‘And he went to him [Acevedo] about possibly getting some testosterone treatment stuff that they were giving a bunch of overweight guys in Miami, and they dropped a lot of weight.’
James was unaware that he was ever investigated, the player’s representative told ESPN.
Acevedo is a former business partner of Tony Bosch, who was the focus of the Biogenesis investigation, which led to the suspension of dozens of MLB players, including Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun and Nelson Cruz.
The results of the investigation also revealed that WWE superstar Paul ‘The Big Show’ Wight and former boxing champion Shannon Briggs.
The DEA told ESPN that they did not bring any charges to athletes as a result of their findings.
‘Our focus was on the distributors and the suppliers of the drugs,’ said Mark Trouville, the DEA special agent in charge of the Florida office during the Biogenesis investigation.
‘The DEA doesn’t work cases to go after users. … We’re looking for people who are distributing drugs. We’re never concerned about the consumer.’
