Sports

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― Former San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty Friday to lying to investigators in the BALCO steroids case, making him the first NFL football player charged and convicted in the long-running federal probe.

Stubblefield, a three-time Pro Bowl player who testified before the BALCO grand jury in November 2003, was charged with making false statements to federal agents about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The charges, newly unsealed in federal court, alleged Stubblefield lied to an Internal Revenue Service agent when he said he had not used steroids linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and denied receiving performance enhancers from BALCO founder Victor Conte.

The plea deal calls for the 37-year-old Stubblefield to spend zero to six months in prison, though U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said she is not bound by that agreement and can sentence him to up to five years. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 25.

Stubblefield and his attorney, Mike Armstong, declined to comment as they left court.

Stubblefield is the latest target in a federal investigation that has spanned five years and ensnared 11 people - including several elite athletes - as well as members of the Burlingame-based steroids distribution ring.

Six defendants, including Conte, pleaded guilty before Illston to charges related to the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs. Five of them were given sentences ranging from probation to eight months of detention. Conte served four months in prison.

The biggest name caught up in the probe to date has been Barry Bonds, the former San Francisco Giant and baseball's career home run king. He pleaded not guilty to perjury and obstruction of justice charges and is awaiting trial. Also awaiting trial for perjury are elite track coach Trevor Graham and champion cyclist Tammy Thomas.

Stubblefield played for the 49ers from 1993 to 1997 and 2001 to 2002, for the Washington Redskins from 1998 to 2000 and for the Raiders in 2003. He is currently an assistant football coach at Valley Christian High School in San Jose. 

Stubblefield was one of three players fined by the NFL for testing positive for the designer steroid THG, but he was not suspended because THG was not added to the NFL's banned substance list until after the tests were conducted.

According to prosecutors, Stubblefield received notice from the National Football League on Nov. 10, 2003 that he had tested positive for THG, which was distributed by BALCO and is known as "the clear."

Three days later, he told IRS Agent Jeff Novitzky that he had never used that substance, according to the charges.

"During that interview, Mr. Stubblefield stated that he never seen the substance and never ingested it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow said.

Stubblefield also admitted in court that he lied when he said he never ingested the oxygen-producing blood hormone drug EPO and that he never dealt with Conte, who ran the steroids ring now infamously known as BALCO.

"I falsely made statements about using the drug EPO and about using the clear and about receiving these drugs from the BALCO laboratory," Stubblefield said in court.

The former lineman, wearing a tan-colored suit, politely answered questions from the judge, telling her that he understood the charges and that he was willingly giving up his right to a jury trial and a future appeal.

Nedrow said that when federal agents raided BALCO in November 2002, they seized "documents and other information" showing Stubblefield paid Conte for performance-enhancing drugs.

Stubblefield's lies "played a material role in the investigation," Nedrow said. "It had the effect of impeding the investigation."

"The government's ability to investigate criminal conduct, unobstructed by lies and misdirection, is fundamental to our legal system," the prosecutor continued. "Accordingly, individuals who choose lie to federal agents and interfere with this essential evidence gathering process will be vigorously prosecuted."

(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)