Barry Bonds is again the center focus of the world of baseball. Many of the questions surrounding him and the use of steroids will soon be brought before a court of law, and we will be left to decide how Barry Bonds is remembered in the world of baseball.
Bonds represents a question on where we are headed in professional sports. How do we deal with revelations of just how long people have been cheating? If we know a person is guilty, whether they admit to it or not, what courses of action do we take in regards to their future in the game as well as all the places they have put their mark over their careers? These are questions that have come up in the past, with people such as Pete Rose, who was found to have been betting on baseball while he was a member of the major leagues. But the similarities between Pete Rose's and Barry Bonds' infractions ends there. Rose bet on the game; Bonds may have used performance enhancing drugs.
Currently, Bonds is not going to trial on whether or not he used steroids. Instead he will face a judge on whether or not he lied under oath. Perjury. That is what will likely take down the giant of Barry Bonds. Whether or not he used drugs is irrelevant. Like President Clinton's affair or that lamp you broke while running around the house, it's not always the act that gets you in the most trouble; it's lying about it.
What should become of the Barry Bonds legacy should he be found to have used steroids? This question was posed to the viewers of ESPN this weekend. The vast majority of those who responded, more than 75 percent, said either Bonds' name should be forever stricken from the record books, or there should be an asterisk next to the record, explaining its uncertain legality.
We can't simply remove Barry Bonds' name from the record book. That seems like we are trying a smudge from the history of baseball. We have to remember what happens when people break the rules. By erasing his name all together and restoring Hank Aaron as the home run king, we are trying to cover up an embarrassment, and that is never a sound solution.
We can also not just let the record stand as it is either. With all the controversy over BALCO and trainers, with suspicious creams and shady witnesses, we can never say that absolutely nothing happened. To leave the record alone is to say nothing was wrong. We know something is wrong. For various reasons we may never be able to say exactly what took place, but it would be forever unfair to legitimate baseball legends to let Bonds' name sit atop the record books alone. We need an asterisk.
An asterisk seems to be the only option that satisfies most parties. It will simply tell future generations that for the time being, we are unsure about this. It says that this is something important in the world of sports. It is too important to just let it go. We need to say that there was something suspicious here, and while Barry Bonds did hit more home runs than anyone else in Major League Baseball, there may be a lot more to the story than meets the eye.
Write to Alex at apcarroll@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
