Professional and non-professional sports have been rocked by steroid scandals in the last few years. On Friday we told you about Marion Jones getting six months in prison for lying to a federal grand jury about her steroid use. It’s now becoming clear that the use of steroids and human growth hormones spreads much further than the sports world. In an ongoing inquiry, the Albany County district attorney has found thousands of people that have illegally obtained prescriptions for steroids or HGH, including rappers 50 Cent, Timbaland, and Wyclef Jean, along with singer Mary J. Blige and writer/producer/actor/morality comedian Tyler Perry.

It’s obviously pretty unlikely that any of these celebrities were taking steroids to increase their home runs. The more likely motivation is bulking up and anti-aging.

A spokeswoman for Ms. Blige, Karynne Tencer, said: “Mary J. Blige has never taken any performance-enhancing illegal steroids.” Ms. Tencer added that Ms. Blige had not taken any antiaging steroids either.

Representatives for the others were not immediately available for comment.

None of the celebrities was accused of violating the law. Instead, the investigation has focused on stopping the flow of the drugs by cracking down on doctors who illegally prescribe them without seeing patients, and on the so-called anti-aging clinics, pharmacies and other distributors that supply the drugs.

[From the New York Times]

I was looking at pictures of the above mentioned celebrities, speculating about what they might have taken steroids or HGH for. With Mary J. Blige, I’d assume it’s about anti-aging, as it’s pretty rare (though obviously not unheard of) for a woman to try to bulk up. Tyler Perry is also very youthful looking – when I first saw him perform a few years ago, I assumed he was in his late twenties, but he’s actually 38. Wyclef Jean is 35, and looking pretty good in recent photos on Splash’s website. 50 Cent, 32, has always had a bit of a baby face, and Timbaland, 36, I would say looks about his age. It’s really hard to guess what people might have been using steroids or HGH for. Lighting, makeup, and genetics all play a big part in how celebrities look in photographs. Unless someone’s quickly gotten huge, it’s pretty hard to speculate about steroids. But something tells me at least half of the people mentioned were probably worried more about anti-aging than they are about looking beefy.

It’s important to note that none of these celebs have been accused of breaking the law, but rather of patronizing doctors, clinics, and pharmacies that are prescribing the drugs illegally.

Steroids are regulated as controlled substances, but growth hormone is not. Proposed legislation would reclassify growth hormone and more tightly restrict its use… drugs were shipped to celebrities, sometimes under pseudonyms, at their homes, studios and hotels and through the Clay Fitness Club and Spa on West 14th Street in Manhattan and the director of its antiaging and longevity program, Dr. Michael Diamond, a chiropractor from Long Island. He declined to comment because of patient confidentiality, the newspaper said.

According to The Times Union, records showed that prescriptions for Ms. Blige and other performers were signed by Dr. Gary Brandwein, an osteopath from Florida. He has been charged with felony drug violations in the Albany investigation and has pleaded not guilty.

[From the New York Times]

The point of the investigation (supposedly) is not to catch/arrest people for using steroids or human growth hormone, but rather to curb the flow of illegal prescriptions of steroids and soon regulate HGH. But this information is obviously a little embarrassing to Wyclef Jean, Timbaland, 50 Cent, and Mary J Blige. I think it probably has the biggest chance of hurting Tyler Perry. He’s certainly one of the least famous of the bunch, but his reputation is built on writing/producing/acting in modern day morality plays. He holds himself up as a pretty straight-laced, upstanding citizen. It’s clear he’s not accused of breaking the law, but being associated with any type of steroid “scandal” is definitely bad for business.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Tyler Perry at the premiere of “The Great Debaters” in Los Angeles on December 11th. Header image of Mary J. Blige at the 40/40 Club Grand Opening in Las Vegas on December 30th. Images thanks to PR Photos.