Bonds Pleads Not Guilty

Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty on Friday after being indicted on charges he knowingly used performance enhancing drugs and lied to federal prosecutors in 2003. He was arraigned in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco, CA and is charged with four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. If convicted he could face more than 2 years in jail.

Following his arraignment he was turned over to United States Marshalls to undergo normal booking procedures. Bonds allegedly lied under oath 19 times in a December 2003 testimony that was held by a federal grand jury that was investigating the BALCO performance drug facility.

"Even Johnny Cochrane couldn't help Barry if he was alive today although the fans might..."
-Patrick Viveiros

Angry fans protested outside courthouse. A tire retailer arranged it's marquee to read, "Say it isn't so Barry," and a Sacramento man arrived in a witch costume. He believes Bud Selig is on a "witchhunt" for steroid abusers in baseball and that Bonds is not guilty.


Bonds' agent confirmed that Bonds will likely be eligible to play the 2008 season, as his court date will probably be sometime December 2008. Bonds could help an American League team as a designated hitter. The 43-year old all-time home run king showed signs of his age at the end of last season. His performance defensively dwindled as his legs appeared to be giving up on him. However, he has hit 762 home runs in his career and still has one of the greatest swings in baseball so here's the question I had:

Should an American League team pursue Barry Bonds for his hitting services despite the charges he faces?

I don't believe anyone should pursue Bonds because anywhere he goes, the media frenzy will follow. A team looking to increase it's revenue and gain fame by exposure could sign Bonds but then how will that reflect the teams image?

George Bush stated that Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran harbor terrorists, will the team that signs Bonds want to be remembered as the team that "harbored the steroid freak"? It is a far cry to say that Bonds is a terrorist but the media has turned him into one.

Bonds is a tremendous athlete despite the allegations that surround him. He still hasn't been convicted of anything thus his statistics speak for themselves. However, the media continues to try and find ways to connect him with using performance enhancing drugs.

This brings me to another question, would the media be as upset with Bonds had he not been on the brink of eclipsing former home-run king Hank Aaron's all-time mark? I personally believe that Bonds has been targeted and had he not broken that record he might not have faced these charges. What is going to happen to Alex Rodriguez after he eventually breaks Bonds' record? Will the media try and connect him with steroid usage?

The point is, the life of an athlete is hard. Everyday is a battle especially with the media crazed United States. Unfortunately athletes are targets of the media who want only to expose them. Furthermore athletes have become targets for crimes and robbery. Such as the case of Washington Redskins free safety Sean Taylor who was recently murdered by home invaders.

If it comes out that Bonds never used steroids at all the media frenzy surrounding him still won't stop. It appears that majority of the country is against Bonds and therefore the media must do their job in seeing that Bonds is found guilty, if not now than at some point in his life.