Baseball star Ken Caminiti struggled with alcohol, steroid and drug abuse throughout most of his career. After his retirement, he made a public admission of his steroid use, which was the first of such admission from any baseball player. His actions resulted in Congressional inquiries into steroid use among players.
In March 2001, Caminiti was arrested for possession and sentenced to probation.
On October 1, 2004, after testing positive for cocaine a month before, Caminti admitted to violating his parole and was sentenced to 180 days, but given credit for time served and was released. By October 10, 2004, Caminti was dead. The New York City Medical Examiners Office attributed his death to, "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and opiates," but coronary artery disease and an enlarged heart were also contributing factors.