For a few pages there, Bill Romanowski leaves the reader with the impression the 1998 Broncos never would have won their second Super Bowl championship without the help of Victor Conte Jr.
Talk about a raising a warehouse full of red flags.
Conte now is considered the scheming mastermind behind the BALCO steroid controversy that rocked the athletic world in recent years.
Only according to the book, “Romo: My Life on the Edge,” which was released Monday, Conte, like Romanowski, was initially clean, only to later cross to the evils of THG, an undetectable designer steroid until the BALCO scandal broke in 2002.
“A big portion of his life was mineral testing,” Romanowski said Monday. “That’s what helped me and a lot of athletes was mineral testing. Zinc, magnesium, copper and chromium. Things that are very good for you. I had some remarkable things happen to me when I was taking these minerals. And I wanted to share that.”
During the Broncos’ mini-camp in May 1998, Conte set up a table adjacent to the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Greenwood Village where the players went for physicals. Romanowski said for players who gave consent, Conte gathered blood samples taken by team doctors and had them examined for mineral deficiencies.
According to Romanowski, 70 percent of the Broncos were mineral deficient. The prescription was supplements, not the “clear” steroid Romanowski admitted using in his final Broncos season of 2001.
“There’s nothing to drag through the mud,” Romanowski said. “We were a great team that won two Super Bowls.”
“I remember Romo was always trying to help guys out,” said kicker Jason Elam, one of the few Broncos left from that 1998 team. “The EAS stuff. I can remember him talking about the mineral deficiencies that are common in athletes. And I can remember the Romo entourage that came mowing through here. The nutritionists, the biomechanics people, chiropractors, acupuncture. Very legit things that we all use. At the time we all felt Romo was cutting edge and would spend the extra money to keep his body feeling good.”
Romanowski said he wrote the book to explain why he made the regrettable decision late in his career to use steroids.
“What has to be clear here is, when I started taking this substance (THG), they didn’t even know what it was,” Romanowski said. “I definitely knew I wasn’t taking flaxseed. But for me, it was all about the list (of NFL banned substances). I looked at that list as the bible.”
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
