SAN FRANCISCO – Barry Bonds' lawyer said he plans to sue the authors and publisher of a book alleging the outfielder used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
Attorney Michael Rains sent a letter Thursday to an agent for the authors of "Game of Shadows," alerting them of his plans to sue the writers, publisher Gotham Books, the San Francisco Chronicle and Sports Illustrated, which published excerpts earlier this month.
The Chronicle posted the letter on its Web site. A hearing in San Francisco Superior Court was tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday.
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The book by Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams was released Thursday. It claims Bonds used steroids, human growth hormone, insulin and other banned substances for at least five seasons beginning in 1998.
"We certainly stand by our reporters and the reporting they did for us," said Chronicle Executive Vice President and Editor Phil Bronstein. "Nothing that's happened will change that."
Rains will ask a judge Friday to issue a temporary restraining order forfeiting all profits from publication and distribution, according to the letter. He said he plans to file the suit under California's unfair competition law.
The Chronicle reported that Rains will ask a federal judge to initiate contempt proceedings "for the use of illegally obtained" grand jury transcripts the authors used in writing the book. The paper also reported that Rains said profits should be forfeited because of that.
Williams said the book will stand up to a court challenge.
"I don't know what the legal action they contemplate is," he said. "Gotham can speak to the legal issues but the facts in our book are true and they will stand up to scrutiny."
Rains did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press.
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