johnnymk

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...11160467/1002/



SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds, baseball's home run king, was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice on Thursday and could go to prison instead of the Hall of Fame for telling a federal grand jury he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.

The indictment, culminating a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes, charged Bonds with four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison.

Shortly after the indictment was handed up, Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, was ordered released after spending most of the past year in prison for refusing to testify against his longtime friend.

"During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes," the indictment said.

In August, when the 43-year-old Bonds passed Hank Aaron to become the career home run leader, he flatly rejected any suggestion that the milestone was stained by steroids.

"This record is not tainted at all. At all. Period," Bonds said.

But while San Franciscans cheered his every swing and fans elsewhere scorned every homer, a grand jury quietly worked behind closed doors to put the finishing touches on the long-rumored indictment.

Bonds is by far the highest-profile figure caught up in the steroids probe, which also ensnared track star Marion Jones. She pleaded guilty in October to lying to federal investigators about using steroids and faces up to six months in prison.

Bonds finished the year with 762 homers, seven more than Aaron, and is currently a free agent. In 2001, he set the season record with 73 home runs.

Late in the season, the San Francisco Giants told the seven-time National League MVP they didn't want him back next year.

Bonds could not immediately be reached for comment. One of his attorneys, John Burris, didn't know of the indictment before being alerted by The Associated Press and said he would call Bonds to notify him.

"I'm surprised," Burris said, "but there's been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I'm curious what evidence they have now they didn't have before."

Bonds' defense attorney, Mike Rains, declined comment because he hadn't seen a copy of the indictment.

"However, it goes without saying that we look forward to rebutting these unsupported charges in court," Rains said. "We will no doubt have more specific comments in the very near future once we have had the opportunity to actually see this indictment that took so long to generate."

Bonds is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Dec. 7.

He has never been identified by Major League Baseball as testing positive for steroids.

The Giants, the players' union and even the White House called it a sad day for baseball.

"This is a very sad day. For many years, Barry Bonds was an important member of our team and is one of the most talented baseball players of his era. These are serious charges. Now that the judicial process has begun, we look forward to this matter being resolved in a court of law," the Giants said.

Union head Donald Fehr said he was "saddened" to learn of the indictment, but cautioned that "every defendant, including Barry Bonds, is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until such time as he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said: "The president is very disappointed to hear this. As this case is now in the criminal justice system, we will refrain from any further specific comments about it. But clearly this is a sad day for baseball."

But while San Franciscans cheered his every swing and fans elsewhere scorned every homer, a grand jury quietly worked behind closed doors to put the finishing touches on the long-rumored indictment.

Bonds is by far the highest-profile figure caught up in the steroids probe, which also ensnared track star Marion Jones. She pleaded guilty in October to lying to federal investigators about using steroids and faces up to six months in prison.

Bonds finished the year with 762 homers, seven more than Aaron, and is currently a free agent. In 2001, he set the season record with 73 home runs.

Late in the season, the San Francisco Giants told the seven-time National League MVP they didn't want him back next year.

Bonds could not immediately be reached for comment. One of his attorneys, John Burris, didn't know of the indictment before being alerted by The Associated Press and said he would call Bonds to notify him.

"I'm surprised," Burris said, "but there's been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I'm curious what evidence they have now they didn't have before."

Bonds' defense attorney, Mike Rains, declined comment because he hadn't seen a copy of the indictment.

"However, it goes without saying that we look forward to rebutting these unsupported charges in court," Rains said. "We will no doubt have more specific comments in the very near future once we have had the opportunity to actually see this indictment that took so long to generate."

Bonds is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Dec. 7.

He has never been identified by Major League Baseball as testing positive for steroids.

The Giants, the players' union and even the White House called it a sad day for baseball.

"This is a very sad day. For many years, Barry Bonds was an important member of our team and is one of the most talented baseball players of his era. These are serious charges. Now that the judicial process has begun, we look forward to this matter being resolved in a court of law," the Giants said.

Union head Donald Fehr said he was "saddened" to learn of the indictment, but cautioned that "every defendant, including Barry Bonds, is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until such time as he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said: "The president is very disappointed to hear this. As this case is now in the criminal justice system, we will refrain from any further specific comments about it. But clearly this is a sad day for baseball."

DarkFury

Seriously these guys are REALLY after Barry.

At this point... is it really a grudge to "get him"? So much expended effort here... it's almost stupid.

__________________


DarkFury's Pimptopia - Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game!
Home of the Original OG Pimp (accept NO imitations)

11th Reader

They need someone to make an example of...he's the home run king who better to make an example of than him? I don't think they're going to stop until the get him. What I wonder though...why are they only focusing on baseball/track and field? Have they even looked into basketball or football? I bet there are lots of football players on steroids.

__________________
Proud DCM #71

TofuNinja

This is old news.....they are only stating what many already thought was truth anyway.... He's been juiced.

__________________
"To search for the old is to understand the new." -Gichin Funakoshi-

===>>>LABELED CANTACUZENE'S DUMBEST PERSON ALIVE!!!<<<===

Maarchk

I think Bond's is the most prominent display of cheating, I think his attitude towards everyone makes it easy to dislike him, and I think someone is looking for a promotion and putting such a big name away can only bring you big publicity.
The majority of people don't like him for one reason or another, and putting away an unliked person tends to make you more liked.

I don't mean to sound like a prick but don't you want this to happen? I would love to see Bonds, Mac, and every other juicer caught and told "you were cheating, your records are no good." I don't feel jail is necessary, unless they committed perjury which looks like its quite possible. But didn't Giambi admit to it and has moved on and is now a decent player again? Bonds was a decent player before he got on the juice and so it bugs me a lot that we will just accept that "because everyone did it, its ok".
I think this whole thing dishonors baseball right now, it harms the players who won't cheat, and it sucks for people like Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth, who I hope set honest records in their time.
I don't like Bonds cause he seems like a jerk. If he honestly set the record, thats amazing. But if he honestly set the record, I'm a freakin Martian! But I would not be happy to only see Bonds get nailed and that be the end of it. I think it should be justice for all, not just big names. So i hope he gets caught, but i hope that after, they catch others.

__________________
"The girl is crafty like ice is cold."

"I left my heart in san francisco... And my liver at Moe's Tavern."

A real friend is one who listens to you as much as they talk to you.

zenbooty

The govt. REALLY doesn't like being messed with, and if they feel someone has lied to or hidden things from them in these sworn-in hearings, they will hound you relentlessly and get you good. There is plenty of precedent for this sort of behavior on their part. It most definitely IS a grudge, but its not a personal one.

__________________
Common sense is what tells you the Earth is flat.

DarkFury

Ok.. but this is what I don't get. When people did stuff that WASN'T illegal back then, but later became illegal, are they still guilty? More or less, you get many of these athletes caught up in these "scandals" and only the ones who stood out seem to be drawing the heat (unless the "good ol' boys who are doing the "chasing" likes those people and whatnot.)

I still didn't see a witchhunt going after Mark McGwire... especially when he was up there in the HR race with the rest of them. Why is that? Do you not think he was "juicin'"? But yet, he's been virtually ignored... is his profile "that low"?

I know you guys don't like the "race card" but honestly, some of this really stinks in context of it. If Barry wasn't "BARRY"... with his strong, Black, "I don't give a frack" attitude... would they still be after him like this? In saying this, I'm not saying that they are doing it because he is Black, but honestly, adding that to the mix does seem to fuel the fire and desire to bring him down it seems (just in my own opinion). You can disagree if you want to... but that's just my own opinion on it.



So why do so many in the Govt. lie... but yet don't get hounded like this (unless you are on the OPPOSITE side of the group doing the hounding.)

People living in glass houses... should not throw stones. Honestly, this has become a nation of hypocrites and "holier than thou" people.

11th Reader

I believe McGuire has admitted to being on steroids during his chase...at least I thought I read something about that.

I have wondered if it was a race card, but I think it's more of the fact that Barry has been a jerk and it's easy to condemn someone that's disliked. I'm a Giants fan, and even I don't care for him. He's definitely tried to improve his image with the media since this all exploded, but I think after years of being an a$$ to the media, they're making a point to put him in the spotlight, and as a result the government is reacting to the media spotlight to show that they're doing something about it.

DarkFury

Baseball has had plenty of "jerks". Babe Ruth was a jerk, yet he was loved and feared by many at the time.

Current age baseball has had it's fair share of "jerky" players... some get a little attention (kinda like the John Rocker incident awhile back) but ultimately that stuff blows over and those folks continue on with their careers. However lately, various "media witchhunts" have gone after certain "high profile" sports stars.. and ironically, they seem to have some things in common. I'll leave it to you to decide what that is.

eSDee

He pled the fifth.

__________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 days ~ Willie Nelson

3 days I dread to see arrive
3 days I hate to be alive
3 days filled with tears and sorrow
yesterday today and tomorrow

cheapie

hmmm...indeed. barry is not just a black athlete that people hate. he's a person that has treated the media poorly. he was chasing the single most hallowed recored in baseball. his body was one of the most seemingly obvious examples of what drugs can do for you. he attempted to tell the public that he thought the drugs he was taking was simply flaxseed oil. and he was dumb enough to lie to the gvt under oath.

i dearly hope you're not including ron mexico in your list of high-profile athletes that have gotten undeserved attention. or any of the fools playing for cincinnati.


heck yeah they have something in common. they vastly outnumber their white counterparts in at least one, maybe two of the most popular sports in our country!

DarkFury

Honestly Cheapie....it just seems like there are a group of folks out there who really are after certain players/high profile athletes/high profile celebrities.

You can't say that all the rest of the athletes are totally "clean" are they? But I guess those other guys won't garner the attention that these "big fish" will... not to mention being a TROPHY on the wall of those prosecutors.

Why is it that we just keep seeing the same types of faces all the time... are they REALLY the only ones who do this crap? Or are they the only ones being chased for it?


Just like when they had dirt on Rush and O'Reilly.... yeah, the heat was on them for a few weeks, ultimately it died down and now nobody says NOTHING about them any more. What happend? Did the folks just STOP chasing them? Granted... they are not athletes, but they are "high profile" people who did bad stuff and it gets swept under the carpet and spun by the media to pretend like nothing happens. Yet with these athletes... the spin sure as hell don't work for them and they get persecuted and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Look at the cheating scandal in New England... a slap on the wrist and they keep on playing. Big whoop... It's almost like nothing even happened over there as well.

Just like in politics, there is alot of corruption in sports as well... and depending who you are determines how bad the antagonists are gonna attack you I suppose.

But no... there is no "double standard".

eSDee

Maarchk

I hear stories about Babe Ruth and it sounded like he was a jerk. I don't know, i wasn't there.
but bonds has never had a positive story about him dealing with people that i have heard of. Now lets grab another loud black athlete. T.O. Not on my friends list cause he's never played for one of my teams, and he seems very loud and flamboyant and at times obnoxious, BUT when he's having a good day or feeling good, he plays with the media. Friendly smack talks and seems like a decent funny guy. When he's ticked, he doesn't hide it and sometimes lashes out. I don't have any issue with that because he's a very high energy high emotion player, but I have heard and seen both sides of the coin with him.
With Bonds, i honestly feel he's 100% for him self and a jerk.
I don't think you are wrong in thinking they could be more focused on black athletes, because thats the agenda, but He is also the most prominent active person in the game of baseball who the majority of people would easily believe was cheating.
I personally think they should go after McGuire harder, and conseco after he wrote his book. But i'm just a fan, and actually i'm not really a fan of any of them anymore.
hmm, but how about this? Why did it seem like they never really went after Sammy Sosa? (I get the feeling you might tell me he's not black, but he was the next most prominent baseball homer hitter i can think of. Maybe Griffey, but i dont think he cheater and he's been injured a lot so is not as prominent.)

DarkFury

Sammy is still dealing with the "corked bat" incident. His rep and endorsements were severely tarnished after that. More or less, maybe that was "mission accomplished" as far as he was concerned for those "witchhunters".

As far as Ken Griffey goes... they probably can't dig up enough dirt on him ... plus his injuries took him out of the running of the lead dogs anyways. In these "witchhunts", they really are only after BIG game... and Griffey is pretty much a "small fry" in comparison plus he never stirred up any trouble. He's not even on their radar from as far as I can tell.

Maarchk

Makes sense. Is it possible there is no other big dogs? I mean, since the balco case, do you think there are any other active players they should have pursued?

zenbooty

Let's be fair, here. John Rocker's career was ruined. Conseco, for all his accomplishments, is regarded as a laughing stock today. They put Giambi through the ringer pretty good for awhile there, too. And since Rose refused to come clean on gambling, he's been disqualified from the game and the Hall of Fame.

DarkFury

Wasn't Rocker still allowed to play after that though? Yeah... a few fans hounded him, but nothing like the folks going after Barry. I honestly stop watching or caring about keeping track of Rocker after he left Atlanta.

Conseco... well... after the "Surreal Life"... what do you expect. Jason Giambi... got nowhere near this amount of attention, and is still playing.... John Rocker...still continued to play yet the focus turned off of him. He basically got cut because he SUCKED at playing... he wasn't "removed" from baseball.

And Pete Rose... well, yeah they've persecuted Charlie Hustle. Personally, I'd let him back in, but I guess he pissed off the wrong folks. Of all the examples above, his is probably the most legitimate comparison of treatment.

VTGreg

For starters, using steriods was illegal before, they just didn't test for it.

I'm sure there is an element of race involved in all of this but in most cases these guys were doing dumb stuff. Bonds is getting the most attention because he was going after the home run record. Giambi did get the same type of attention when he admitted to using steriods and the grand jury testimony was leaked. The big difference with Giambi was 1) he admitted to using them and 2) he wasn't going after one of the biggest records in sports. It also helped that he had an injury plagued season and was essentially out of baseball for that year.

McGuire got raked through the coals when he appeared before Congress and essentially plead the 5th. He has remained relatively unscathed because he has kept and incredibly low profile since retiring. I can guarantee you that he will be scrutinized again when it comes time to vote for the Hall of Fame.

Sosa wasn't nearly as hurt by the corked bat incident as you may think. The Northside still loved him until he became more and more self-absorbed. Sammy lost favor with Cubs fans because of his attitude, not because he was caught using a corked bat.

Bonds has been allowed to play despite there being "evidence" that he used steriods. Personally, I think the whole thing has been a complete circus. We will never know who used what and when and, as a result, I don't think you can add any asterisk or caveat to any record. Other hall of famers have been caught doctoring balls and cheating in other ways throughout the history of sports. History and public opinion will decide how the record is treated but I doubt baseball will strike any records or add any asterisks. Bonds' one mistake in all of this was being an idiot and allegedly lying under oath. Other that that, in the context of what has happened during this age of baseball, Bonds has not done anything that should caused him to be singled out.

Also, to add a counter argument to race being a deciding factor, Shawn Merriman was found to be taking steriods and served a 4 game suspension but I believe he still made the pro bowl and was in the discussion for defensive rookie of the year.

Sorry, that was pretty long.

__________________
It only ends once... Anything that happens before that is just progress.

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

cheapie

right. but none of those guys lied to a FEDERAL grand jury and broke the single biggest record in sports.

i understand your frustration. many of the biggest black stars today are in trouble or have gotten an unwarranted amount of attn. sometimes it's because they're just idiots (imho) like vick, bonds, the bengals team, etc. but i also think it's because people always want to bring down the guy on top, whether he's black or white. and many of the top spots in sports are domindated by black guys.

DarkFury

Like I said before... it's just my own personal opinion that many of these "witchhunts" do have a stink of racism in there.



Honestly, even though Hank Aaron got death threats and whatnot in his day, I bet he's glad that stuff like what's going on now wasn't done in those days. If you dig deep enough, you'll probably find SOMETHING somewhere.

But honestly, if I were in their position, I'd probably tone down the braggadocio a bit just to NOT give the critics anything more to feed on (I do fault those guys for that... as they make themselves even bigger targets).

cheapie

i guess i can't really understand your point without knowing who else you might be talking about.

i'm trying to think of some other recent black athletes that have gotten the same type of scrutiny as bonds. vick? i would hope you don't think the attention paid to him is unwarranted. OJ? sheesh.

i will say that i agree that if an athlete is less "urban" or "hipop" they won't get as much crap as a white guy would for doing the same thing.

and esdee, my point was that since there are a lot more black superstars in the nba and nfl, perhaps the reason they are the targets of witch hunts more often is because there are more of them. perhaps not.

i guess the accusation that the angst towards bonds is racially-motivated bothers me so much that when the same person levels that charge regarding other high-profile athletes, i'm less willing to consider that it might be the case.

i feel that it is so freakin' obvious that bonds took drugs, lied to a grand jury about it, benefited from doing so, and broke the most hallowed record in baseball with the help of his PEDs that i honestly don't understand how a person could say the reason people are on his back is because of race.

that said...i'm sure there are tools out there that hate him because of his race. but i think they are a small minority.

DarkFury

Honestly, the attention given to Vick went way over the top in my own opinion (in general, the media today is way over the top so I guess some folks look at that is "normal" these days.) Yes, what he did was bad... but the media sure ran with it and made it a "nuclear" situation when conventional weapons would have worked well enough. O.J.... well we know that his name sticks in the craw of many White Americans (of course many Black Americans get a good laugh thinkin' about the previous O.J. situation) But now, they got something to stick on him so lots of those folks are really happy and gloating right about now. But we digress... this thread is not about those folks.

All I'm saying is, I'm noticing a trend here. I expect you to see it differently (based on previous discussions), therefore I continue to state "it's MY opinion". You can disagree at at your discretion... but that doesn't change my opinion at this point.


Question... how many Black folks do you know that really have a major problem with the way that Barry Bonds acts? Most of the ones I know that I ask basically don't see the situation the way that the media keeps blowing it up. Yeah... he's arrogant, but hey... after years of pefecting what he does, he backs it up with performance. So now, they attack the performance and give all the credit to the steroids to discredit him. Who are these people that keep applying this pressure? Do they have a face? If so, what color is that face?

I know that some folks want to ignore the fact that some (or most) of this could be racially motivated. Those same folks generally think that we actually live in a "fair and balanced" society as well. All in all... it's just a big joke (that's nowhere near being funny.)

cheapie

i'm not sure i understand your point about bonds and the face and the pressure. i'll just say that as a cycling fan i know more than most about the effects of doping and i think it's ridiculous that people can claim that doping didn't have any affect on the record.

i will absolutely say that sometimes the exposure has been racially motivated. but when two of the biggest examples of supposed racial witch hunting has been indicted by the federal gvt for perjury, and another one that's in prison for the dog fighting stuff....it sure makes me wonder if there's really any substance to the complaint.

i think perhaps sometimes when black athlete strikes a nerve in the media, it's more the urban or hip-hop aspect of him than his race. yes, sometimes those are inextricably linked. but i think this distrust, misunderstanding, etc. is sometimes misread by others as being a racist reaction, rather than a cultural one.

jmho of course.

DarkFury

Cheapie.. i'm used to you not understanding my points.

Hence... we both hold on to our own opinions.

TofuNinja

Why does this have to be about race? If someone cheated they cheated and should be punished. If it came out that Lance Armstrong doped before his races or used roids too he should be punished because he cheated, not because he's white.... same with Bonds. I could give a crap about the color of his skin, he cheated.... he needs to be punished.

I honestly haven't read enough of this thread, but I am sure DF is for the punishment (he cheated), but thinks it's a racial thing to get him (Grand Jury not leaving him alone), which are two different things.

DarkFury

Just an "odd coincidence" I suppose...

des1969

What bugs me is they waited until AFTER he broke the record. Sounds fishy to me

__________________
DCM#157

DarkFury

Hmmm...

In light of the "Mitchell Report"... I wonder if there will be a bunch of heat put on those other players identified as steroid users now.

I saw that it was mentioned that Roger Clemens should be sweating now. I wonder if they will dog him like Barry. I guess we will see.

cheapie

sure they will. if he starts chasing the most important record in all of sports. and lies to a grand jury. and treats his teammates, fans, and the media like crap.

__________________
70% of the world is covered by water. The rest is covered by Bob Sanders