Barry Bonds* Is Innocent! Just Look At The Wrist Band!

Maybe Avi can bid on this item from American Memorablia: a 1987 Pittsburgh Pirates/Barry Bonds* "Say No To Drugs" wristband.

Here's a question, leading to several others: if Bonds* was merely doing steroids to protect his legacy against steroid users Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, as this article in the Hardball Times states, and if steroids at that time were not illegal and therefore "permitted", as Avi states, why has he consistently lied about using them? Why not just speak out and tell the truth? In the former case, it would have prevented him from being the only one labelled as a user (in fact, not even, as he wasn't using at that point, wink wink), and would have brought the whole mess to light. In the latter case, it would have illustrated to people that Barry* actually felt justified in using steroids, that there was nothing to be ashamed of in using drugs not prohibited by Major League Baseball. So why lie all this time?

The answer is a easy one, really. Bonds* was only out to enhance his own legacy, and he knew he was cheating to do it. People don't do things they abhor merely to keep pace with other people doing the things they abhor. Not when they are rich multi-millionaires who have little to lose. Let's stop acting like we are talking about Sophie's Choice, here. Bonds'* didn't just hold the fort on Sosa and McGwire; he gained through roiding up. Nor do people lie and obfuscate over matters that they think people have no right to judge them on. If doing steroids was no big deal, if it was "permitted," why the hush-hush? Could it be because Bonds himself knew that he was cheating, and didn't want to get caught? And really, doesn't that cut to the heart of the matter? In essence, isn't Bonds'* own silence the strongest argument that the validity of his accomplishments should be called into question? We are talking about a man who still denies he did anything wrong, which at this point is likely an inidcator that he did everything wrong. Even with the evidence, the man is in denial. Why? Couldn't it be, isn't it really, because the man knows he cheated, that he took advantage of fans, his fellow players, and the game? And if that is the case, if Barry Bonds* is willing to convict himself through his obstinate silence, shouldn't the game of baseball, and we as its fans, take the final step and denounce him through public proclamation?