They have only anonymous stories on this issue, no one has put their name to any of these accusations therefore he should have the benefit of the doubt till proven otherwise.
This is how A-Rod's name got out there in connection to his positive steroid test-
1) The random testing in 2003 was initially done to see what percentage of players would test positive. If it fell anywhere around 5-10% or more, the league then would begin more stringent testing going forward.
2) The criteria was met after the results came in. The names were on all of the specimens but due to the confidentiality agreement, were not made public.
3) Player's Union Chief Operating Officer Gene Orza, who is baseball's representative on "the Health Policy Advisory Council, which deals, on a confidential basis, with substance abuse matters and other medical issues concerning players", kept the results instead of destroying them which was the protocol.
4) When the Federal Government subpoenaed the results for the purposes of gathering information on their case against BALCO and Barry Bonds, they confiscated the entire list. This list included all of the names of all 104 players who tested positive and which substances they tested positive for.
5) Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts did her due diligence in breaking this story, checking and re-checking her sources until it was ironclad.
6) She then met with Alex Rodriguez on the campus of the University of Miami where she gained access to the gym and gave Rodriguez the opportunity to answer these allegations. He declined to make any statement other than she had to speak to the Player's Union about it.
I have no idea who the reporter's sources are, but leaked grand jury testimony is what started this avalanche when Giambi and Bonds testified as to their association with BALCO a few years ago. So the source could be somewhere within the Federal Governments' people who have a copy of the list.
I believe it is only a matter of time before the whole list is made public. But so far, the biggest name in baseball was exposed first.
So to answer Badpiece, no, this situation is far from being mere hearsay. And remember, outing the source of the information is not a prerequisite for obtaining the information or verifying its' veracity. If it were, law enforcement would be hampered in going after criminals without confidential informants.
And if it turns out that the leak is among the Federal Governments' people working on the Bonds' perjury trial, they would lose their jobs.