How in the heck is this Hall of Fame going to handle this one:
Barry Bonds, the most prolific slugger in baseball history and holder of the most cherished record in American sports, was indicted yesterday on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, stemming from his testimony to a federal grand jury four years ago that he had not knowingly used steroids.
Bonds, 43, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted on the four perjury charges and one obstruction of justice charge being brought against him for allegedly lying under oath. An arraignment has been scheduled for Dec. 7 at U.S. District Court in San Francisco, with a trial unlikely to begin until late next spring at the earliest.
“During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes,” the indictment read, before detailing parts of Bonds’s testimony in December 2003, with the allegedly perjured statements underlined.
Bonds’s legal status had been hanging over professional baseball for nearly four years, providing a public face to a controversy involving the use of performance-enhancing drugs by elite athletes and creating a murky backdrop to Bonds’s pursuit this summer of Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record. With yesterday’s indictment, one key question was answered — until the indictment was unsealed, Bonds never had been revealed to have failed a drug test — but others were posed, such as what to do with Bonds’s records and legacy if he is convicted.
I can think of a few ideas……..and all of them involve the Pete Rose treatment.
I am not sure how any one benefits from this announcement and seeing this drag on further. Bonds will likely get some big name lawyers for a messy and lengthy trial after which he may very well walk away scotch-free…