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Barry Bonds Indicted On Perjury…
Written by Charles on November 16, 2007 – 1:59 amThe long awaited, and probably widely anticipated, indictment of Barry Bonds came out today. Bonds has been indicted on perjury, and obstruction of justices charges that if convicted he could face a maximum of 30 years in prison. The investigation into Bonds and other elite athletes about their use of steroids has been ongoing for a few years and it appears as if it is finally coming to a head. Earlier this year Marion Jones plead guilty to similar charges in the same investigation and faces up to 6 months in prison.
Bonds however is by far the most high profile athlete to be linked to the case at all. The slugger set baseball’s all-time career home run record earlier this year, all while publicly stating that the hallowed record he had just broken was in no way tainted. Bonds went so far as saying he would boycott the Hall of Fame if the ball that broke the record had an asterisk stamped on it (by the owner of the ball) and put on display in the Hall of Fame. Whatever your feelings on Bonds and his alleged use of steroids is, this is certainly a watershed day in the history of the steroid era of baseball. What will happen to Bonds record, and his legacy as a whole, if it comes out that he did in fact take steroids. Keep in mind that the charges are that he lied while under oath about taking steroids, not that he actually took them. However if committed, that would obviously be as close as we could ever come to actually knowing for sure whether or not he took any steroids, and that’s all we can hope for I guess.
-Charles
Posted in General, League Analysis | 5 Comments »
By Jonathan on Nov 16, 2007 | Reply
In my opinion, he won’t serve any substantial time in prison. That just seems to be the way of our society. High profile individuals rarely serve large penalties, if any at all. Sure, they could try and make an example of him, but who knows on that front. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I’ve never been a Bonds fan, but I do still take note of the achievement of hitting a little round ball with a round bat so far so many times. Steroids don’t improve your hand-eye coordination, they don’t improve your timing, and they don’t make you a good baseball player if you otherwise have no talent. Skinny Bonds was still hitting 30 HR seasons. That being said, I do believe that an official statement that steroids were involved will further taint an already damaged record and reputation.
By Matt on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
In response to Jonathan, I would argue that high profile athletes are no longer immune to the chance of going to Prison.
Mike Vick anyone?
-Matt
By Jonathan on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
I do agree that they are no longer AS immune to prison, but they still do seem to have some preferential treatment.
In the case of Mike Vick, I don’t think he’s getting any preferred treatment at all. It’s almost looks like he’s worse off than murderers and rapists at this point.
I do however believe that athletes and celebrities shouldn’t receive any different treatment than anyone else when it comes to legal matters. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
By Jonathan on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
In my opinion, he won't serve any substantial time in prison. That just seems to be the way of our society. High profile individuals rarely serve large penalties, if any at all. Sure, they could try and make an example of him, but who knows on that front. We'll just have to wait and see.
I've never been a Bonds fan, but I do still take note of the achievement of hitting a little round ball with a round bat so far so many times. Steroids don't improve your hand-eye coordination, they don't improve your timing, and they don't make you a good baseball player if you otherwise have no talent. Skinny Bonds was still hitting 30 HR seasons. That being said, I do believe that an official statement that steroids were involved will further taint an already damaged record and reputation.
By Jonathan on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
I do agree that they are no longer AS immune to prison, but they still do seem to have some preferential treatment.
In the case of Mike Vick, I don't think he's getting any preferred treatment at all. It's almost looks like he's worse off than murderers and rapists at this point.
I do however believe that athletes and celebrities shouldn't receive any different treatment than anyone else when it comes to legal matters. It just doesn't make sense to me.