With federal prosecutors saying they have evidence that Barry Bonds used steroids, he was indicted by a U.S. grand jury for obstructing justice and perjury concerning the use of steroids.
Prosecutors said the have evidence "including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds."
The lawyer for Bonds, Laura Enos, says that government agents have given false statements, saying Bonds has never tested positive for steroid use.
Enos said in a phone interview that "This is going to be a very, very spirited defense. Barry is going to defend himself to the hilt."
Bonds could end up with sentences of 10 years in prison, along with a $250,000 fine for being charged with obstruction, and 5 years in prison and $250,000 for the perjury charges, if convicted.
In a strange statement to the grand jury, Bonds said he may have used the substance accidently, asserting he thought it was flax seed oil or some other legal ointment. The flax seed oil argument has been used by other athletes to defend themselves in these types of cases.
A former trainer of Bonds, Greg Anderson pleaded guilty last year of federal charges of money laundering and conspiring to distribute steroids. In 2005 he spent three months in jail, and last July was again jailed for contempt when he refused to testify before a grand jury.
Tim Kawakami was particulary disappointed and hard on Bonds, saying, "Why did Bonds do it this way, when smarter men like Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Shane Mosley testified about their knowing use of steroids to the grand jury several years ago?
"Because he is Barry Bonds and he never believed he could be touched by the things that affect and disable normal mortals."
He added that all Bonds had to do from the beginning was to tell the truth about the usage.
Bonds is the first player to be indicted in the investigation that has spanned four years. He is scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate on December 7 in San Francisco.
So just how important is it to tell the truth?
As a motivational speaker, I was recently speaking to a group of high school students about the importance of telling the truth and making the right choices. What qualified me to make this presentation - personal experience…perhaps one of the best teachers in life. Having spent time in Federal prison for making unethical decisions, I know first hand the impact that choices have in our life. I am not proud of those decisions, but, likewise, refuse to hide the fact that I made them and that the impact they had on my life were - well - life changing.
As reported in the Wall Street Journal law blog, MLB’s home run hitter Barry Bonds has been indicted for - well simply put - “lying!” http://blogs.wsj.com/law/
The post in the WSJ Blog states: “Bonds joins a line of individuals stretching from Alger Hiss to Martha Stewart to Scooter Libby to who were indicted not for commiting an underlying crime, but for lying to investigators. Each time this happens, critics argue that a perjury prosecution is nothing more than an excuse for overzealous prosecutors to bring a headline-grabbing case against a boldfaced name. On the other hand, in pursuing such well-known figures, the feds hope to send a message to the meek and mighty alike: Don’t lie.”
I couldn’t agree more. Whether Bonds is convicted like Martha Stewart or not…the fact remains that the consequences of lying can have dramatic, life-changing effects. Take it from one who knows, “Club Fed” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s prison and no one I know wants to be there.
I routinely speak to business groups and associations on ethics, choices, consequences and their total effect. Every choice has a consequence - and the sooner we recognize that telling the truth is a choice the quicker we control the type of consequences we face. I personally perfer ”positive results” from the choices I make.
Posted by: Chuck Gallagher | November 16, 2007 6:58 PM | Permalink to Comment