It was the summer of 2003 when a piece of news hit the wire that threw the sports world into frenzy. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel near Vail, Colo. This wasn't Mike Tyson, this wasn't even Mark Chmura. This was the golden boy, the family man: No. 8. Reports about the man who Nike loved to sport their shoes, and Nutella to spread their cocoa butter sent most sports fans into a world of shock.
It was reported Tuesday that two San Francisco Chronicle reporters had compiled a book that detailed Giants' slugger Barry Bonds' steroid use since 1998, and excerpts would appear in the next issue of Sports Illustrated. The book is said to be founded on numerous documents and over 200 interviews. Wires were worn and jealousy was uncovered, but is what we learned Tuesday really that surprising?
Yet, Barry's news was almost treated like the day of Kobe's. Were people really that shocked? Was this report so contradictory to what we thought we knew of Bonds' character? Maybe not. Maybe the people who despise Bonds and believe that his alleged steroid use has tainted their national pastime were finally saying, We got the bastard!\
It just couldn't have shocked anyone. Even the laid-back baseball fan knew Barry was taking something. If you're even more laid back than that, pick up some baseball cards and check out the progression of the man who now ranks third in career home runs behind Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. People get bigger, people work out, but people's bodies, including their foreheads, don't explode in size at age 34.
In 1998, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were chasing the then 37-year-old single-season home run mark, reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams claim Bonds was jealous. He began taking a steroid called Winstrol, the authors wrote, and working out in a gym where he met Greg Anderson. Anderson was later caught on wire in 2003 saying, ""The whole thing is, everything I've been doing, it's all undetectable. The stuff I have, we created it. You can't buy it anywhere else; you can't get it anywhere else. You can take [it] the day of [a drug test], pee, and it comes up clear.""
So there you have it, these are the facts. Surprised? Taken aback? Astonished, even? I didn't think so. But the question now is, where does Barry go from here?
No. 25 says he won't even read ""Game of Shadows,"" that there's no sense in doing so. Manager Felipe Alou refused to comment, as does the entire Giants organization. So to decipher Bonds' next step, we're going to have to look at what the Bonds we know would do next.
Bonds despises the media. He once brought his son to a press conference and accused the press of hurting his family. He has told the press to clean their closets before they start digging through his. Yet, they have kept digging. And this bit of knowledge is only going to complicate things.
ESPN is coming out with their reality show, ""Bonds on Bonds,"" set to debut April 4. The show, originally supposed to detail his journey toward Aaron's record, instead will no doubt focus on the recent allegations. Can Barry, a man with more pride than all the Milwaukee Brewers combined, really deal with that?
In my opinion, no. Bonds will ultimately step down before this season, but I wouldn't exactly call it ""riding off into the sunset."" His over-emphasis on self-importance and scorn for members of the press will ultimately lead to his retirement. Even a tear-filled Jason Giambi-like admission speech won't save him now.
I always loved watching him play, juiced or not. Whether it was in the Pirates outfield, playing alongside Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla, or when he was carelessly slapping dingers into McCovey Cove, his game has always been a piece of art. He was a Hall of Famer before steroids, becoming the first man to hit 400 home runs and steal 400 bases during the 1998 season, and a statistical anomaly afterward, with an on-base percentage of over .600 and slugging percentage over .800 in 2004.
It's too bad it had to end like this. But when Bonds steps down before the Giants open their season in San Diego on April 3, I doubt at that moment a soul will be surprised.
Sam Pepper is a junior majoring in political science. He can be reached for comment at sepepper@wisc.edu.\
