David Cynamon (L) owned the Argos with Howard Sokolowski (R) from November, 2003 to February, 2010.

BY PERRY LEFKO

sportsnet.ca

One of the former owners of the Toronto Argonauts stands behind the team’s embattled former team doctor, who has been charged with illegally treating athletes in the U.S. and allegedly smuggling and administering a banned drug in Canada.

In an exclusive interview with Sportsnet.ca, David Cynamon, who owned the Argos with Howard Sokolowski from November, 2003 to February, 2010, said he stands behind Dr. Anthony Galea and would "absolutely" continue to employ him as the team’s doctor if he still owned the team.

Galea resigned from the Argos in February during the process of the ownership transfer from Cynamon and Sokolowski to David Braley. The Argos have refused comment on Galea, other than to acknowledge his resignation, because the matter is now before the courts.

"The court would have to prove (the charges) and we’d cross that bridge when we got to it, but as far as what we knew and as far as what the world was looking at Tony, he was adept at what he did and we had no reason to doubt him," Cynamon said.

"I can’t give an opinion on how the law looks at things…but in my mind he’s innocent until proven guilty because I know what he’s all about and I’m upset to see when we have great Canadian (people) like this we don’t stand up and support him and wait to see if he’s guilty. He’s a great Canadian mind and we need to keep as many of the great Canadian minds as we can."

Cynamon said isn’t sure if any of the charges are true or not because he hasn’t seen any of the documentation, nor has he been contacted by any law enforcement officials. He has kept in regular contact with Galea.

"I consider him a very good friend of mine," Cynamon said. "I admire and respect him and he’s someone who is very smart and loyal and very genuine. Tony and I speak all the time. The Argo relationship was not what solidified our relationship. We had one before, during and we’ll have one forever. I speak to him as much as I can and offer as much support as I can.

"We don’t talk (about the charges) very much because first of all I think he’s been instructed not to and I don’t pry there. I want to talk about other things and take his mind off of this, too. I’m there for him as a friend, too.

"My reaction is upset, hurt about the whole situation because of the character he exudes and what he’s all about and how he feels about athletes and how he treated our athletes and how he treats everyone and how he looks at physio and his philanthropy and I could go on and on," Cynamon said. "It’s very sad when I read a lot of these things about his character. It’s inaccurate."

Cynamon said he has personally known Galea for 12 years, going back to a time when Cynamon was part of a board that acquired the doctor’s physiotherapy clinic. Cynamon brought Galea into the Argo fold as one of many facets to upgrade the organization after seeing the quality of athletes who employed his services.

"I asked Tony really as a favour because there’s no way a CFL team could justify the care of a Tony Galea," Cynamon said. "I knew we were getting world-class services and that was what was so important."

Cynamon knew Galea had been treating many world-class athletes, in particular Olympians. In the various reports that have surfaced about Galea, it has indicated his stable of athletes included Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez and some National Football League athletes.

"What I was aware of is that the top world-class athletes from around the world would call him and he wasn’t a guy that looked to show that off and could have acted like a much bigger player and shooter than he was," Cynamon said. "He was pretty low profile and he just went ahead and did his job and had the world’s greatest athletes looking for his services."

Cynamon said he did not know specifically if Galea had a license to practise medicine on athletes in the U.S.

"I could only assume because he was," Cynamon said. "I never asked and I didn’t even think to inquire because it was none of my business. I only assumed that what he was doing was right."

The former Argo owner said he wasn’t aware if Galea was involved in blood spinning, a platelet-rich plasma therapy designed to expedite the healing process of injuries in high-profile athletes.

The procedure has been described as cutting-edge and controversial, but it isn’t illegal.

Cynamon said he wasn’t specifically dialed in to everything Galea did with the Argos players, only to the level that they went to him for treatment of injuries and physicals.

He joked when asked if he was aware of whether Galea was involved in the smuggling and administering of the banned drug Actovegin.

"I never got involved in that detail, and whatever it was if it was something that was really good we obviously didn’t get enough of it because our record didn’t show that we cheated in any way," Cynamon said in reference to the Argos’ 3-15 record last year, the worst in the CFL.