Barry Bonds is an indicted man now, but as we know, indictments don't necessarily lead to convictions, particularly when it comes to celebrities. O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, Robert Blake - it's a long list of free famous people, no matter how damning the evidence against them appeared.
So we'll see what happens. But we should be at peace with this reality: There are no heroes here. Obviously not Bonds, who deserves whatever comes his way. But not our government, either, which seemed absolutely hellbent on snaring Bonds, no matter the financial or moral cost. When you're trying to get Jason Grimsley to help you catch Bonds, that qualifies as a witch hunt.
We in the media didn't do very well, either. We treated the leaked grand-jury testimony _ not only of Bonds, but Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield _ as no big deal, when we should've been outraged. Our country is supposedly about protecting everyone's rights, no matter how sleazy you are. Bonds, Giambi and Sheffield deserved better, in this instance. And, as the above linked story shows, the leak came from Victor Conte's attorney, in the hopes of pointing the finger at the government and hurting its case against Conte. So while the San Francisco Chronicle did some brilliant work, it's fair to wonder if, in the case of the leaked grand-jury transcripts, it actually aided the guilty.
It should be a fascinating case. Will Bonds' attorneys attempt to open things up to the greater issue of the widespread steroid usage in baseball? How will the government prove that Bonds "knowingly" used performance-enhancing drugs, if Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson won't talk?
We'll find out, eventually. But in the meantime, no one should be feeling particularly proud or triumphant over what has transpired.
Comments (12)
Good point - what officials from MLB will be called to testify?
Bud Selig, Sandy Alderson, Kevin Hallinan - what did baseball know and when did it know it regarding Operation Equine in the early 90's? My FBI source confirms that MLB was told of steroid sue despite their denials - put Bud et al on the stand.
Pads GM Kevin Towers, Rangers GM Tom Grieve - they have talked about knowledge of players using - what exactly did they know and why did thye not blow the whistle?
Tony LaRussa - at ground zero in Oakland and in St. Louis along with much of his staff.
Just remember the famous quote from former Padre owner Ray Kroc when told a player who won a game with a double was on cocaine - "Well give em all cocaine then!"
"When you're trying to get Jason Grimsley to help you catch Bonds, that qualifies as a witch hunt."
Or when you use Sammy the Bull to help you catch Gotti? Ken read the front pages, this is how the process works. Government actions typically fall between ugly and awful. They've been hyped up on perjury of late, Martha Stewart and Libbey both got run on he said/she said evidence.
An aside, what good would the GJ leak outrage have done? 100% of the media, 95% of the public would be blamed the Feds. They were framed as you note. Not sure what your point is, unless you are stressing the unfairness of life.
Ken: Thanks for your voice of sanity. Yes it is a witch hunt and one hopes that pin the trial process the prosecutorial zealotry & misconduct will be highlighted by Barry's lawyers and the judge. It's a sorry mess but reading the indictment you can see that giving the guy immunity was tantamount to giving him enough rope to hang himself. Barry is one guy. He was only engaging in the real national pastime--cheating. his crime was getting caught. So the sanctimonious handwringing from MLB and the media are pretty hypocritical. As for your colleagues, they have acted awfully similar to such journalistic giants as Judy miller, Mike Gordon, Tom Friedman and all the other enablers and cheerleaders of the Iraq war. A bad time for baseball, journalism and the old US of A.
My point, Craig, is that Barry Bonds is far from the only sinner here. The government used extremely questionable judgment. So did the San Fran Chronicle. At some juncture, you have to wonder whether the end justifies the means.
YOU WANT HEROES? HOW ABOUT GREG ANDERSON. UNDYING LOYALTY, A DEVOTION TO PHYSICAL FITNESS AND AN OBVIOUS LOVE OF BASEBALL. MAYBE I DON'T KNOW WHAT HEROES ARE ANYMORE. Did someone compare Bonds to John Gotti?
The Grand Jury transcript was leaked a year or so after the testimony, still wrong, but still plenty of time for Bonds and Sheffield to go back to the US Attorney's office and asked to clarify their statements. Also it showed brazenly how Bonds was lying to the Grand Jury, given the whole "flaxseed argument" was expose as a very bad lie, not just by bonds but by Marion Jones and others as well.
I am not as outrage of the leaking of the Grand Jury as going in front of it and blatantly lying.
I guess it's a value judgment, Ted. Since the media rests above Bonds on my power chart, I expect better behavior from the media than I do of Bonds.
This episode has finally proven Gordon Gekko wrong or least put a boundary on his claim. Not even Steinbrenner could do as much. OK, lesson learned, but what do I do now? Root for A-Rod to break the record so he can get more millions? Is he even clean? Please make it stop.
Well the media is a big entity as you know better than me and Fainaru-Wada and Williams did win a Polk for their reporting. It also finally brought to light what was whispered about Giambi for years, and it came out after his tumor on his pituitary gland, and his sudden weight loss after his grand jury testimony. I always thought Conte leaked it, given he made a media blitz during that time.
I still think Bonds should be in the HOF, and he is a great player, but he also was playing fast and loose with the truth, along with MLB, given they have been denying Performance Enhancement Drugs for years and are doing the Mitchell Report so Congress won't step in and take action for them.
Well, when you have George W. Bush as president, can anyone really be surprised by anything the government does?
Yeah, Bush is bad news. He better apologize for interning the Japanese.
Ken, excellent rundown of the legal issues from an expert:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/barry-bonds-a-guide-to-help-you-cut-through-the-noise/
Happy Thanksgiving.