What hath thou wrought?
| 10
|
by user Shrubbery
Barry Bonds is one of the most enigmatic sports figures in history. Only Bobby Knight can equal Bonds’ petulance displayed towards the media and fans. Bill Russell was surly and Ty Cobb was a miserable person. But with these men what you see is what you get. Not so with Bonds. His public persona has fluctuated more than the Dow Jones.
Not since the days of Ty Cobb have we seen an athlete who so brazenly thumbs his nose at the very people responsible for his fame, notoriety, and money. In an infamous episode Cobb went into the stands and pummeled a boisterous and admittedly critical fan. Thing is, this fan had one arm and Cobb gleefully beat the tar out of him. Now Bonds has never physically assaulted anybody but he’s time and again turned his back on his fans.
To say that his relationship with the media has been contentious would be putting it mildly. The only reason Bonds tolerates the media is because it’s a necessary evil of his job. Not that the media is virtuous or even kind and fact is they can be a den of vipers but if you foster at least an amicable relationship with them your job as a public figure is made infinitely easier.
His interview with ESPN in ’05 was a surreal if not revealing look at the man behind No. 25. In this impromptu session he claimed the media had broken him and his family. He looked and sounded utterly defeated. Now his reality show, Bonds on Bonds, which seems to be a not-so-veiled attempt to rescue his image, is shedding further light on what makes this powerful yet mysterious man tick.
Yes Bonds has been the most scrutinized athlete in sports over the last three years but the bed he now lays in was made of his own doing. It’s a shame such a gifted athlete has to act like such a surly pain in the ass. His physical talents are unquestionable and had he acted like a decent human being he might possibly have gone down as the most revered athlete this side of Michael Jordan and Muhammed Ali.
Then there’s the steroid cloud looming o’er Bonds’ head. The specter of potential steroid use threatens to undue 20 years of Major League magic and a lifetime of hard work. Bonds is a tireless worker, no one doubts his desire or gumption. They just doubt now the seemingly God-like physical gifts and mythical stats because of the alleged steroid scandal. Whether or not the BALCO accusations are legit, Bonds’ legacy takes a beating with every day of silence.
One simple gesture, a blood test, would dispel once and for all any talk of steroids. I’m not talking the sham that is the MLB drug testing scheme, I’m talking submitting to a state blood test so the California prosecutors, media, and critics will fade quietly away. This simple act of contrition will eradicate all talk of cheating and cement his status as perhaps the greatest baseball player ever and maybe one of the best professional athletes of this or any century.
Yet Bonds sits in stoic defiance as the media questions the veracity of his chase of Hank Aaron and passing Babe’s 714.
If Bonds goes down for steroid use he deserves his fate. If the fire that Bonds burned across the sky in his 20 years in baseball is suddenly extinguished then, once again, he deserves his fate. Bonds has the tools to squelch all talk of steroid use. He has the means at his disposal to reverse his aloof image. And he has the brains to ensure that baseball will remember him as one of its immortals.
Why doesn’t Bonds move to save his legacy? Why?
Date
Sun 06/04/06, 8:00 am EST
