|
Articles
History will judge Barry Bonds and his Faulty Records. Saturday 09/17/05 Barry Bonds returned to baseball Monday night batting cleanup, but every home run he hits will dirty baseball Barry Bonds returned to baseball Monday night batting cleanup, but every home run he hits will dirty baseball. Bonds forfeited his right to chase Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. Bonds reportedly admitted to a grand jury that he used a cream and a clear substance supplied by his friend and trainer, Greg Anderson, but that he didn't know whether they were performance-enhancing drugs. The trainer eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids obtained through the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. As ignorant as he reportedly claimed to be, however, Bonds must have wondered what was in those substances when he swung the bat. His home-run production surged at an age when most players taper off. There's no point in waiting for Bonds to tell the truth. That he played Monday testifies to how comfortable he is with a lie. And there's no hope that Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball and steward of its history, would find a way to bar the biggest name in baseball, or that the San Francisco Giants' management would pay Bonds what they owe him and say goodbye. The only thing that could have saved baseball from Bonds were the federal prosecutors who were building the case against Anderson, BALCO founder Victor Conte, BALCO vice president James J. Valente and Remi Korchemny, a track coach who prosecutors said acquired performance-enhancing drugs from Conte and provided them to track athletes. The BALCO case promised a revealing trial. Bonds and other athletes might have had to testify in public and under oath. Some might have testified against each other. The record would have been open and much more complete. Through a trial, the public would have learned not only about Bonds but other baseball players, including the New York Yankees' Jason Giambi. It would also have shed light on suspicions about track star Marion Jones, who now may drift into retirement without an airing of the evidence against her. Instead, prosecutors agreed in July to plea bargains with sentencing to come in October. The four defendants will pay a discounted debt to society, and the actions of Bonds and other athletes will be buried in the secrecy of grand jury testimony and the silence of a trial that never came. The BALCO charges, primarily the illegal sale of regulated drugs and money laundering, are not offenses that cried out for a trial, but the context did. This was a case in which the American process could have served America's pastime. Instead, the feds chose to save the time and expense of a trial. Dr. Gary Wadler, a steroids expert who is on the board of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said the lack of a trial produced a lack of answers. "Most of us were anxiously awaiting the trial to move from speculation to fact, from theory to substance, from hypothesis to concrete answers. All of us were left wanting in that regard," Wadler said. The outcome makes one wonder what happened to the federal urgency about rooting out steroids in sports. In his 2004 State of The Union address, President Bush said: "The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message -- that there are shortcuts to accomplishment and that performance is more important than character." What happened to Sen. John McCain and his anti-steroids campaign? What happened when drug tests showed that Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro apparently lied under oath to Congress about never using steroids? What about those athletes who reportedly contradicted each other before the BALCO grand jury? Prosecuting high-profile perjury apparently is the legal equivalent of a fielder's choice. The federal scrutiny shed light on the hidden world of steroid use. Letting that light fade allowed Bonds to re-enter baseball under a San Francisco fog of suspicion. Wadler said that fog of doubt may also be enough to obscure any Bonds record. "People will tell their kids that was the era of steroids, and that will always be with him," Wadler said. "You don't need a court to do that. I think history will do that." |
Today is: Friday 5/9/08 Article: Guilty Plea In Steroid Case 03/12/2007 Article: Garry Matthews Jr. apologizes for 'distraction' 03/12/2007 Article: Suspected steroid ring to stars busted 02/28/2007 Article: Tainted McGwire fails to make my Hall of Fame ballot 02/11/2007 Article: Mitchell warns government could become involved in steroids probe 02/12/2007 Article: Bonds backs McGwire, Rose for Hall of Fame 01/19/2007 Article: Fehr Vows To Fight Court Ruling On Steroid Tests 01/06/2007 Article: McGwire debuts on shrine ballot 11/28/2006 Article: Anderson Heads Back To Prison Again After Refusing To Testify 08/29/2006 Article: Dusty Baker To Testify In Steroid Investigation 08/13/2006 Article: Nobody's laughing at Landis's excuses 08/10/2006 Article: Contempt charge possible for Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson 07/02/2006 Article: Canseco warns of more steroid woes 07/03/06 Article: Grimsley released day after steroid search 06/08/06 Article: Pujols Defends Bonds 05/26/06 Article: Reporters who uncovered alleged steroid abuse subpoenaed 05/10/06 Article: Barry Bonds provided steroids and trainer Greg Anderson to Garry Sheffield 04/06/06 Article: Conte denies giving 'roids to Bonds 03/31/06 Article: Baseball to probe alleged steroid use 03/30/06 Article: Rose supports punishment for steroid use 03/28/06 Article: Lacking proof, Wendell says Sosa was juiced 03/18/06 Article: Cal ripken talks about Bond and Mcqwire 03/22/06 Article: 2nd book alleges Bonds steroid-use plan 03/15/06 Article: Giants become silent on claims against Bonds 03/08/06 Article: HR crown just doesn't fit Barry Bonds 02/27/06 Article: Arrest is called first in Web steroids ring 02/22/06 Article: St. Louis Cardinals former manager Whitey Herzog Talks about Steroids 02/14/06 Article: Bud Selig: Drug use drops below 1 percent 02/01/06 Article: Were the Kansas City Royals Juiced in 1999? 01/15/06 Article: Vince Mcmahon Proud of Steroid Policy for Wrestlers 11/28/05 Article: Baseball owners unanimously approve steroid deal 11/19/05 Article: Baseball, union agree to tougher steroid policy. 11/15/05 Article: Pete Rose Jr. pleads guilty to distributing steroid alternative Tuesday 11/9/05 Article: ESPN Finds out what Baseball was Hiding from the fans 11/8/05 Article added 10/01/05: Another Steroid Bill Proposed in U.S. House Article added 09/17/05: History will judge Barry Bonds and his Faulty Records. An "About Us" page has been added to the site to help give visitors a better idea of our site's purpose.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home - Articles - Forums - Contact - Store - Audio - Video - Links
This site is a project by The De-Juicer. All work is Copyright The De-Juicer © 2005. Site Design By: The LineDetail Drawing Co. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||