Anthony Galea

Anthony Galea (born August 19, 1959) is a Canadian doctor who specializes in sports medicine and director of the ISM Health & Wellness Center Inc. in Toronto, Ontario.

Early life and education Galea was born in Toronto and grew up in Etobicoke. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo in Health Studies and then earned his medical degree at McMaster University in Hamilton in 1986. PRP may be valuable in enhancing soft-tissue repair and in wound healing. Galea's arrest in 2009 for smuggling human growth hormone (HGH) into the United States raised suspicion that he might have combined HGH with his PRP therapy. Javon Walker, Santana Moss and Chris Simms, Major League Baseball players Huston Street and John Patterson have also received treatment from Galea.

According to The New York Times, Galea visited Tiger Woods at the latter's Orlando, Florida home at least four times in February and March 2009 to administer PRP— designed to speed recovery from injuries, and that Woods reportedly responded well to the treatment.

Legal issues Galea was found carrying a stimulant that is banned by the Olympics when he arrived in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was never charged and was allowed to enter the country, but Australian customs seized his medical bag.

On December 15, 2009, The New York Times and the Associated Press reported that Galea was the subject of a joint investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Buffalo Field Office for allegedly providing elite athletes with performance-enhancing drugs, as well as criminal conspiracy. The drugs were Actovegin (legal in Canada, but not the US) and human growth hormone. According to the New York Times and CNN, Galea was convicted of a felony. As part of the plea agreement, he is required to cooperate with investigators and disclose the identities of his clients and their treatments.

On December 6, 2017, the Ontario's medical regulator ruled that Galea would lose his medical licence for nine months for professional misconduct; he was also ordered to pay the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario $21,500 in legal costs.

Personal life In 2001, Galea experienced what would be considered as a spiritual awakening. As described in a Sports Illustrated article on the doctor, "after three sleepless nights in his Toronto condo, Galea felt a sudden urge to travel to Jerusalem". He followed this calling, and "a week later, sitting by himself in a small chapel on the Mount of Olives, Galea says he reconnected with God". where he often volunteers his time and knowledge to charitable causes. He has volunteered and fundraised for the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, the largest rehab hospital in the Middle East, which treats wounded Israeli soldiers.