BONDS, THE MEDIA, MAJOR
LEAGUE BASEBALL, AMERICAN RAGE
Gary N. Gray
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First and foremost Barry Lamar Bonds did not break any (MLB) Major League Baseball Laws. Bonds may have broken America’s substance abuse (Steroid) law. Let me emphasize MAY HAVE. In America we are all innocent until proven guilty, unless you’re an out spoken and prominent African American male.
The Black Athletes Sports Network (BASN) polled its reader on the weekend of All Star Game. The question asked its readers is whether Barry Lamar Bonds is vilified in the American white media? The resounding response was a 90 percent yes; this illustrates how we still see events in BLACK and WHITE.
Barry Bonds plays the game like any other player trying to get advantage of any game situation. Examples, pitchers throwing spit balls, pitchers cutting baseball, pitchers using sand paper or brillo pads to get a better grip on their curve ball or runners stealing the catchers' signs to the pitchers, batters moving out of the box to gain a few feet before the baseball brakes at home plate or ground-keepers either letting the field grass grow too long slowing the baseballs down in the outfield or watering the infield surface to slow down base runners. All this is cheating, but nobody complains. This is part of the game; or is it? When cheating benefits the team it is acceptable; when it benefits an individual it is not acceptable. There’s something wrong with this attitude.
Most of America enjoyed Tuesday afternoon's Major League’s Baseball All Star Game in Windy A T & T Park in San Francisco, California. Barry Bonds came to the plate and the San Francisco crowd cheered their hometown hero. But there is still a distant cry, a distant thunder in examining the record breaking fetes of Barry Bonds.
This year fans are throwing objects and racial epithets on the field; nationally televised sports talk shows are disseminating negative information about Bonds; the American Media calls Bonds a cheater, a steroid freak, and does not deserve the home-run record. What about the many pitchers, caught using substance enhancing drugs? Has anybody looked at the old photographs of New York Yankee Roger Clemmons in his early years in Boston with the Red Sox’s? Be serious! Be fair!
The Major Leagues did not enforce their shadow drug mandate until 2004-2005; so where is all of this rage coming from towards future Hall of Famer Barry Lamar Bonds? He just played within the rules of the game.
In the past two years, there has been a nasty tone bombarding Bonds every time he takes the field. The complaints have come from the media of mostly white middle age, and middle class males. Males that could not play the game so they write about it. This leads many to ask, is this another racial American rage event.
What happened when the Oakland A’s Bash (Jose and Mark) Brothers were knocking homeruns all over American League Parks? What happened when Sammy Sosa and Mark MacGwire raced for the season’s homerun championship in 1998? What happened when the quite big red headed man wearing the St. Louis Cardinal number 25 pasted Roger Maris’s single season homerun record? America was in love with Mark and Sammy. They were in love with baseball’s long ball fest. Major league owners were making money as millions of fans came to watch; very few complained. Where they not using the same substances as Barry Lamar Bonds? My, My, My, how times have changed.
This year’s spring training for the Giants would only be a harbinger of things to come. The United States sports media corp. again started discussions about athletes and steroids, especially the status of Barry Lamar Bonds. However Sammy Sosa quietly returned to baseball in Arlington, Texas, playing outfield for the Rangers with little fanfare. Meanwhile New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi stated in a high profile magazine that many current players should not be taking the STUFF.
Two years ago, Baltimore Orioles first basemen Rafael Palmerio tested positive for drugs and was suspended for ten days. The drug issue hit the front pages of all American sports sections but baseball ignored the issue again. The anger was not there. This year you can smell the fire in the air and you can hear the war drums. Just mentioning Barry Lamar Bonds' name makes veins start popping out on their heads, eyes get glassy and red; and voices raise a few octaves.
Just the mention the names of individuals such as (baseball) Gary Sheffield, (baseball) Ritchie Allen, (football) O.J. Simpson, (boxing) Jack Johnson, (football) Jim Brown, (baseball) Curt Flood, the 1960’s version of (boxing) Muhammad Ali, (baseball) Reggie Jackson, (speed skating) Shani Davis, (track and field) Tommie Smith and John Carlos, last (tennis) Mr. Williams the father of Venus and Serena Williams, and these African American men evoke a range of emotions from anger to rage in America. Only Ali has regained the graces of American love.
A courageous effort is still being made by Major League Baseball to hide the drug (steroid) issue. Unfortunately the big Black bull is still in baseball’s China closet and his name is Barry Lamar Bonds. He is headed for the homerun record with each passing day. Bonds made it easy this year for the baseball fan, the commissioner, and sports media to talk about drugs and baseball. Baseball is still using smoke and mirrors to divert the serious problems of the Major League Baseball. Baseball is becoming the new World Wresting Federation and it’s not funny. The American pastime has become a joke and it needs to be corrected.
Barry Bonds and the media are not the best of friends. In the late sixties and early seventies a very young Barry Bonds watched his father Bobby Bonds get roasted by some of the same reporters on the beat today. Newspapers all over the country misquoted and abused the senior Bonds. Bobby Bonds speaks his mind which is a No-No in America. Bobby Bonds had a severe drinking problem and the San Francisco sports beat writers printed some harsh articles. Obviously Barry’s childhood experiences with the media have influenced Barry Bonds the man today. He is tight lipped, passive-aggressive, and at times belligerent. Barry simply does not trust the press nor should he.
Bonds still is the lightning rod on the issue of steroids and Barry thinks he is wearing a teflon Giants baseball jersey, especially around the City of San Francisco. Many pure baseball fans do not want Bonds to break Hank Aaron’s 755-homerun record. Yet the same angry baseball fans voted him to the All Star Game in San Francisco this year. So is this a media generated conversation? If you throw out Barry Bonds 2003 season of 73-homeruns, he averages between 40-50 homeruns per season. If he played three to five more year Bonds would achieve this record anyway.
Bonds made a very interesting statement a few years ago that should make everyone think about this continuing issue of cheating in baseball. “ Drugs, steroids, whatever you ingest cannot make you see the ball or hit the ball. It might help you hit the ball farther but if you can’t see it then what? You have to have the natural abilities to hit a baseball.” Bonds has a point, and baseball needs to listen to this very talented baseball star.
Major League Baseball and the majority white American sports press corp. need to stop playing mind games with this issue and be serious about dealing with the steroid problem. Either have a serious drug program or let the homeruns continue to fly, stop making Barry Lamar Bonds baseball’s escape goat. It’s not fair nor is it right.
THE GRAY LINE
7/16/07
