* The steroids books backlash begins

According to a press release from the Gibson Law Firm, distributed by PR Newswire on Aug. 10:

The publisher and authors of a book about steroid use in major league baseball were sued today by a Texas man who says they falsely claimed he was “pushing” steroids to professional athletes and using his gym as a front for selling drugs, according to The Gibson Law Firm.

Former gym owner Kelly Blair, of Deer Park, Texas, alleges that the book — “American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime” (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group) — falsely linked him to an “underground steroid network,” a convicted murderer and drug dealer, drug smuggling from Mexico and Canada, and the preparation of “collections of drugs” shipped to professional athletes.

Blair also is scheduled to testify on Tuesday before a federal grand jury in Washington.

Blair’s attorney, Jason A. Gibson, of The Gibson Law Firm, stated, “As the lawsuit alleges, Kelly Blair was maliciously and recklessly defamed by the authors and publishers of this book and at least one dubious source whose false allegations they published. Kelly looks forward to his day in court on this matter. In the meantime, he looks forward to testifying tomorrow before the grand jury in Washington.”

The defendants in the lawsuit are authors Michael O’Keeffe, Christian Red, Teri Thompson, and Nathaniel Vinton, all of whom are reporters for the New York Daily News; Robin Dobbins, a Deer Park, Texas man who was a source for the book; and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, of New York.

The lawsuit, which includes claims of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, seeks damages, exemplary damages, and attorney’s fees.

The case is “Kelly Blair v. Michael O’Keeffe, et al.,” in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, 11th Judicial District, Cause No. 2009-50671.

Here’s a report from MLB.com.

You hear about this all the time: The parties are outraged by the slander and libel and threaten to bring suit, but we haven’t heard much about it lately. Is it a question of the wheels of justice grinding slowly? Stay tuned.