Bonds hit with charges over BALCO
San Francisco
November 17, 2007
Page 1 of 2 |
Single page
Advertisement
US BASEBALL superstar Barry Bonds has been indicted for lying to investigators about using steroids, becoming the most high-profile victim of a spreading doping scandal, justice officials said.
The home-run king faces charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for his statements to investigators during a grand jury hearing into the notorious Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) affair, the California Department of Justice in San Francisco said.
The San Francisco Giants slugger broke the long-standing home-run record earlier this year, but critics say the milestone was tainted because of doping allegations hanging over him.
Bonds, who was indicted on Thursday, faces four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to investigators probing BALCO, the scandal that already has implicated several top athletes in baseball and on the track, including former US sprint star Marion Jones.
If convicted on all charges, the 43-year-old free agent, who was seeking a contract for next season, could spend up to 30 years in prison.
On the same day that Bonds was indicted, long-time Bonds trainer Greg Anderson — one of five men convicted in the BALCO scandal — was ordered by a federal judge to be released from prison, ESPN reported.
Anderson had served his BALCO sentence but was being kept in jail for refusing to testify against Bonds to the grand jury that had been investigating the Giants star.
The timing of his release could indicate he has co-operated with prosecutors investigating Bonds, perhaps providing the breakthrough that enabled charges to be filed after four years of investigating Bonds, Jones and others.
"Bonds is charged with knowingly and wilfully making false material statements, regarding his use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances while under oath," the state justice department said.
It said the maximum sentence for perjury was five years while the maximum term for obstruction of justice was 10 years.
Bonds blasted his 756th career home run in August to surpass Hank Aaron's famed record, which had stood for more than 30 years.
But he was mocked by fans — except when the Giants played at home in San Francisco — and was chastised by the media for the persistent doping allegations and his often high-handed manner.
In the book
Game of Shadows, written by two
San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Bonds is reported to have started using performance-enhancing drugs in 1998.
The authors allege Bonds was envious of the attention Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa received during their assault on Roger Maris' single-season home-run record that year.
Bonds has had a career spanning 22 seasons, starting in Pittsburgh in 1986, when he made his debut as a wiry and speedy base runner.
Bonds has family ties that go deep into professional baseball. His father Bobby was a major leaguer and his godfather Willie Mays is in the sport's hall of fame.
Before Bonds broke the home-run record, a poll conducted by ESPN and ABC News suggested that three out of four baseball fans believed he knowingly used steroids.
And 52% said they were cheering against his breaking Aaron's record.
It was not until Bonds reached his mid-30s that he started to average more than 50 home runs a season.
He hit 49 in 2000, a record 73 in 2001 and 46 in 2002.
While his higher home run numbers raised questions, it was the federal investigation of the San Francisco nutritional supplement supplier BALCO that irrevocably linked Bonds' name to doping.
Bonds, now with 762 home runs to his name, has denied he took steroids.
AFP