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Dukes' Estranged Wife Says Rays Hiding Steroid Use

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By THOMAS W.  KRAUSE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2007

Updated: 09/12/2007 04:39 pm

Special Report: Previous Coverage, Photos, Forum

TAMPA - In July, the divorce lawyer for the wife of Elijah Dukes accused the beleaguered outfielder of using steroids.

Now, she's accusing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of trying to hide it.

Elijah Dukes

NiShea Dukes' attorney, Catherine Real, said she has no direct evidence that Elijah Dukes is taking steroids, but dramatic changes in his physique and his personality make his wife suspicious. In July, a judge gave Dukes 10 days to hand over a report from a recent drug evaluation. Real said she has not yet seen it.

Court records show that Real has asked the Devil Rays to produce Dukes' medical records, but the team balked, arguing that release of those records would violate medical privacy laws.

After a hearing this morning, Real said she suspects the drug evaluation report includes information about Elijah Dukes and steroids.
"If that were not so," she asked, "why are they reluctant to release his file?"

Morris "Sandy" Weinberg, a prominent civil lawyer not affiliated with the case, said Real might be jumping to conclusions.
Anytime a company is asked to produce medical records, company officers would wait for a court order.

"Otherwise, it would be a violation of their responsibility under the law," he said. "You can't draw any conclusions from that. Just because they are not turning it over doesn't mean anything."

In July, Judge J. Kevin Carey ordered the release of the drug evaluation. On Wednesday, he questioned why the Devil Rays would not release it. If the report does contain sensitive medical information, Carey said, he could read it in his judicial chambers to protect Dukes' privacy.

Carey set a hearing for Monday afternoon in which Devil Rays' attorneys are expected to explain why they will not turn over Dukes' file.

"The Devil Rays will be on the hot seat Monday," Real said.

Rick Vaughn, the baseball team's vice president of communications, made a statement to The Tampa Tribune, blaming the holdup on the law.

"The Rays are not a party to these matters, and the law prohibits the release of any employee's medical records or other information without employee permission," Vaughn said in the statement.

Elijah Dukes has been tested for steroids by Major League Baseball and has not come up positive. The league tests players for steroids once a year in the spring. Players can be randomly tested during the season. Some performance-enhancing drugs cannot be detected by baseball's urine tests.

This year, after troubles including a marijuana arrest and paternity suits, Dukes was optioned from the Devil Rays to their Triple-A minor-league affiliate in Durham, N.C., and placed on the temporary inactive list.

At the divorce hearing in July, Real asked the judge to randomly test Elijah Dukes for marijuana and steroid use. Carey said he saw enough evidence to test Dukes for marijuana use - asked directly by the judge, Dukes admitted to having smoked marijuana - but the judge said he did not see enough legal cause to test Dukes for steroids.

Instead, the judge ordered Dukes to take a drug evaluation by a therapist.

Dukes' attorney, Peter Meros, said Dukes had taken an evaluation at the Menninger Clinic in Texas. Carey ordered the results of that test handed over to NiShea Dukes and her attorney.

On Wednesday, when Real said she still did not have the report, Meros blamed the problem on the Devil Rays.

"I do not have it," Meros said. "I cannot get it."

The Devil Rays, he said, declined to release Dukes' medical and financial documents. Real said that raises a red flag.

"I'm suspicious that the reason they don't want to give me the file," she said, "is not so much for the money, because I can prove that, but for the drug related material that may be in there."

Real said the report includes a psychological evaluation regarding the use of steroids and other drugs but she does not know whether the report also includes medical testing for steroids.

Real said her top priority is the safety of her client. NiShea Dukes won a restraining order against Elijah Dukes after she accused him of sending her a text message with the picture of a gun and threatening her life and her children's lives.

Steroid use causes drastic changes in personality, Real said, and Dukes has exhibited "uncontrollable anger."

"This gentleman was a gentle man," she said. "All of a sudden, what the heck happened?"

Wednesday she told the judge she was afraid for NiShea Dukes' safety if both Dukeses attended the same parent coordination session as required by the court. Elijah Dukes, she said, is potentially violent.

As she spoke, Elijah Dukes sat in court and stifled a laugh.

Elijah Dukes showed up 15 minutes late wearing black jeans and an oversized white T-shirt. At times, he appeared indignant.

During a discussion on health insurance, Carey asked if Elijah Dukes would put his estranged wife on his health insurance.

"No," Dukes said.

"I don't like that attitude," Carey said.

Carey ordered Dukes to restore NiShea Dukes to his health insurance plan and to keep her as beneficiary of his life insurance until the divorce proceedings are concluded.

"That don't matter," Dukes said. "I don't plan on dying by then anyway."

At a previous hearing, Dukes was ordered to pay his wife temporary alimony of $3,300 per month, $2,800 per month in child support as well as to pick up the tab for several other expenses as the divorce proceeds.

On Wednesday, Carey increased the child support payment to about $3,500.

Although Elijah Dukes was sent back to the minor leagues, he still makes $380,000 per year. In August, he received a $150,000 bonus. Dukes' attorney said that money was eaten up by last year's taxes.

If the Devil Rays choose to pay Dukes as a minor league player, his salary could drop to $30,000 per year.

Tribune reporter Carter Gaddis contributed to this report. Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813)259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

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