Barry Bonds Faces Prison

The home-run king has been indicted on four charges of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. He faces 30 years in prison. Federal prosecutors have charged Bonds with lying under oath in testimony before a grand jury. His alleged offenses occured in December 2003, during investigations into the now infamous Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) which produced undetectable steroids.

A month ago, the 43-year-old baseball player was released by the San Francisco Giants at the end of his 15th year with the team. During that season he surpassed the career home run mark of 756 home runs, set by Hank Aaron in 1976. Bonds eventually finished with 762. There is an indication that the Giants released Bonds after being tipped off that he might be indicted.

Prosecutors allege that Bonds perjured himself during his denials of steroid use. They have not released the alleged evidence, but suggest that he tested positive for anabolic steroids. He has denied the use of steroids or human growth hormone, insisting that the only thing he had taken was "flaxseed oil" and that his bulk and power came from prodigious workouts. "I know who I am and what I stand for," said Bonds, claiming it was his abrasive personality and his home run records which made him a target.

My response: Was that the same "flaxseed oil" that sprinter Marion Jones - who has pled guilty of lying to federal investigators in the same BALCO scandal - claimed to take? However, because Barry Bonds is in a much more influential sport in America, I doubt that he (unlike Jones) will see a prison cell.