Fla. man accuses Romero of assault

TORONTO - A Florida man has accused Phillies reliever J.C. Romero of assaulting him after Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"What did he say? That he was drunk and got into a fight?" Romero, 33, said yesterday when asked whether he wanted to hear the fan's complaint. "I'm not going to comment on it. I'm trying to be professional, and I don't really want to get into that. Don't want to make a story out of nothing."

The fan, 25-year-old Robert Eaton, told the St. Petersburg Times that he asked Romero for an autograph outside Tropicana Field and was refused. Eaton said that he then made a comment about steroids and that Romero grabbed him by the neck and pushed him, Eaton told the Times. Eaton filed a report with local police. He could not be reached last night for comment. It was not immediately known whether charges would be filed.

On June 3, Romero finished serving a 50-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He claimed that he unknowingly ingested the substance, androstenedione, while taking an over-the-counter supplement bought at GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe. The pitcher has filed lawsuits against those stores, and the manufacturer of the supplement.

The Phillies issued a statement yesterday afternoon.

"We're disappointed to learn about the alleged incident with a Rays fan and one of our players following Thursday night's game at Tropicana Field," the statement said. "We are in the process of gathering all of the details surrounding the situation. Until such information is provided, it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time."

The Rays confirmed the report in their own statement. "At this point it is a police matter, and for that reason we won't have any further comment," the statement said.