In its essence this is about all the weapons that can be used to avoid the truth and accountability. Race is just a tool to spin or use as a shield. Outside its ability for conver it has no other value. Except for those of us hardened in civil rights or the back hand of discrimination, it is no longer relevant.

Beneath age 40, well I don't know what matters but it is not race. Thank Gawd! Baseball might not matter either now that subprime has taken away their season tickets.

The only real bias is it started with the Giants - a tainted franchise ever since it left the Polo Grounds. Yankees... it is part of their cosmetics, no big deal.

You keep trying to make lemonade here, and it's just not working for me. Bonds was a cheater. A lying cheater at that. His accomplishments are forever tainted. And all the excusing in the world cannot erase that fact.

The fact that he was *your* cheater means less than nothing to the rest of us, and invalidates your entire line of reasoning, such as it is.

Sure, there's racism in baseball. there's racism everywhere. But that does not excuse Bonds' behavior, nor does it get him off the hook.

Last time I looked, perjuring yourself before a grand jury wasn't a "crime" ... it was a crime pure and simple. So lets distinguish persecution from prosecution, please. But you're absolutely right: being a "singular asshole" doesn't help. I'd say the "singular asshole" helps to explain a lot: both for Bonds and for Clemens.

It's ridiculous that there are still people out there, after the release of the Mitchell report who will still hold Barry up as the evil incarnate of baseball. What I thought of after hearing all this news was how many others are using who were never named. It's clearly an epidemic and we all know it. For all the folks who hate Barry Bonds for whatever reason, they can take comfort in knowing he will be punished by the feds....something none of the other steroid users in baseball will have to face.

Personally I think Bud Selig should resign as commissioner to send a message that he is ultimately responsible for letting the situation get to this point. Maybe then, baseball can start to figure out how to get it's shit back together.

Wacky

If Sammy Sosa was the one chasing Hank Aaron's record he would not be as hated as Bonds.

If Bonds had owned up to his steroids and acted apologetic he would not be reviled.

Part of what made Bonds different from McGwire or Giambi or Sosa was that he was a guaranteed Hall of Famer before the steroids. His speed and power were amazing.

In using steroids, he wasn't some guy hanging on, he was running up the score, and so was Clemens.

Bonds was not the only one. McGwire took andro - a steroids precursor. Giambi nearly admitted he took steroids. Canseco did admit he took steroids. Others, like Sosa (who wasn't named), were suspected of taking steroids. Bonds was not the only one.

But, if he bore the brunt, then he deserved much of it. Bonds is not a nice, public man. He is a private and gruff man. He was suspected of taking steroids while he chased Hank Aaron and broke the single season homerun record. At the same time, he was aloof and guarded with the public and the media. Bonds bore the brunt of things because he was setting potentially tainted records and was a jerk.

Baseball doesn't owe Bonds an apology. But, Bonds owes all the fans an apology; yet, this will never happen.

Is there a double standard in the way Barry Bonds has been persecuted for steroid use?

The word is prosecuted not persecuted and he is not being prosecuted by "baseball" but by the Department of Justice because he was mixed up with Balco in part of a wide ranging investigation that has included other prominent athletes in other sports, notably Olympic sprinters Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery.

This in turn is part of the worldwide initiative against drugs in sports led by WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) to whose code the United States is a signatory, and which is partly funded by the US Government.

According to Wikipedia:

In 2000, Conte managed to contact American baseball star Barry Bonds via Greg Anderson, a coach working in a nearby fitness studio. Bonds then delivered contacts to other baseball professionals.

So Bonds was allegedly involved in corrupting other players too.

The reason he is being prosecuted is that he failed to cooperate with investigators and a grand jury. He lied under oath.

It is nothing to do with being African American. He would have been prosecuted even if he was Swedish American.

Anyhow, he has the right to a fair and speedy trial and to be represented by a lawyer. He is a grownup. He does not need Salon to do silly PR for him.

bushwacker00, with all due respect, did you read the piece? McGwire lied about steroids, and is, actually, not one of the great charismatic figures of the game. (To be fair, he is, belatedly, suffering for his likely steroid abuse and lies about it.) I wrote about the role of Bonds' surliness in his persecution; but if surliness was a crime, much of Major League Baseball would be convicted.

And Amerigo, no, actually, the word I wanted was "persecuted." That's been going on since 2002-3 (or earlier if you count the "he's a goat and Jeff Kent is a standup guy!" stories.) He was just "prosecuted" last month, roughly four years after his allegedly false grand jury testimony. He's been persecuted far longer. But thank you for your thoughts.

The main reason Bonds was persecuted was that the sports media didn't like him because he didn't kiss their asses. Same reason the media fawned over McGwire while bashing Canseco. That said, guys like McGwire and Brett Boone (most obvious juicer in history) were aw shucks everyday white middle-American farm boys, no doubt into mom and apple pie. That certainly plays a part. People don't want to believe that the polite, corn-fed all-american is a cheater, even when it's beyond obvious.

By the way, everything Jose Canseco has been saying for a decade has been exactly right, the guy is a fucking genuis compared to everyone else. It's downright silly how far ahead of the curve he is. Pitchers use steroids. Correct. Steroids help you rehab and avoid injury. Correct. Tons of guys are on steroids. Correct. McGwire was on steroids. Correct. Steroids don't ruin your throwing arm or make you slow. Correct. Steroids can make you a better hitter and hit for higher average. Correct.

Basically every name he named has been validated. Everything he said about steroids and the role they play in baseball has been validated.

We should just give him a national column and everyone else should stop talking. Maybe if he started wearing glasses people would take him seriously? It's amazing how marginalized he is considering he is obviously the foremost expert on the subject.