Steroids plea another hit on Falcons' image

The Atlanta Falcons suffered another hit to their tarnished image Tuesday.

A Texas man, ensnarled in an international anabolic-steroids sting called "Operation Raw Deal," pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids. The man claims to have ties to the Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys.

David Jacobs, of the Dallas suburb of Plano, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court. While his plea agreement was sealed, Jacobs said in a signed statement that he was responsible for distributing 40,000 units of anabolic steroids and several thousand units of human growth hormone.

He told KTVT in Dallas-Fort Worth that he would turn over names of professional athletes to prosecutors.

Jacobs ran a supplements store, and on his Web site — thesupplementoutlet.com — Jacobs claims to have ties to players from the Falcons and the Cowboys.

Both teams denied knowing of Jacobs or of ever having employed him.

"We have no knowledge of David Jacobs," the Falcons said in a statement. "He was never authorized by the Falcons to work with, assist or train any of our players. Consistent with NFL policies, the league office handles matters such as these."

The Falcons declined further comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

The National Football League, under first-year commissioner Roger Goodell, has taken a hard stance on player misconduct.

"We look forward to learning the facts underlying today's developments in this case and to assisting the federal investigation in any way possible," wrote NFL spokesman Greg Aiello in an e-mail to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Consistent with our policies, we will deal with any NFL-related involvement promptly and aggressively."

Jacobs' claim is the latest off-the-field news that the Falcons have had to deal with.

The Falcons have been trying to emerge from the damage caused this summer by quarterback Michael Vick's admission of guilt on federal dogfighting charges. The team struggled to a 1-6 start and failed to sell out the 68,000-seat Georgia Dome for its Nov. 4 game against San Francisco, snapping a 56-game streak of sellouts. As a result, the game was blacked out on television locally for the first time since Arthur Blank bought the team in 2002.

A supposed waiting list of nearly 90,000 for season tickets has evaporated, and the franchise now is considering various marketing measures, including not raising ticket prices for the 2008 season, to lure back fans.

The Falcons dealt with a steroids issue last season when offensive lineman Matt Lehr was suspended for four games for violating the league's steroids policy.

Lehr, now playing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, told the AJC last November that during his suspension, he returned to his Dallas-area home to work out and be near a support system to help him through the suspension.

Lehr, who played for the Cowboys from 2001-04, said when he was suspended that he did not knowingly take anything illegal and apologized for his actions. The Falcons released Lehr after the 2006-07 season.

The Cowboys have had a steroids issue in the last year, too. Quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson was suspended for five games and fined $100,000 for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Wilson has said when he was on the staff of the Chicago Bears, he had some supplements mailed from Orlando to his home in suburban Chicago.

NFL players are tested for steroids and other compounds and chemicals that are agents of steroids or other muscle-enhancing drugs. Penalties include suspensions without pay and possible banishment from the league for multiple violations. Lehr was the first Falcons player to be suspended for violating that policy since Ray Buchanan in 2002.

Jacobs was just one of several defendants in an international case targeting the global underground trade of steroids and human growth hormone and insulin growth factor.

Calls to Jacobs' attorney, Henry E. Hockeimer Jr., were not returned.

Several federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency, were involved in the investigation.

Steve Wyche and D. Orlando Ledbetter write for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.