Bonds does not deserve to hold homer record

July 28, 2007

Being an avid sports fan, baseball in particular, I was pleased to see that your newspaper is soliciting comments on the topic of Barry Bonds and performance-enhancing drugs.

I don't think enough attention is given to this topic. It bothers me tremendously because the youth of today look up to and admire professional athletes for their abilities and accomplishments and tend to overlook the athlete's faults. After all, they are only human, or are they?

Steroids have been around for many years. I can remember in my college days, seeing steroids and money being exchanged in the local gym where I trained.

Why don't athletes do the research? Steroids can kill. Lyle Alzado, a former NFL player, died in 1992 blaming the cancer that killed him on the use of anabolic steroids.

The frightening thing is that many (too many) professional athletes use steroids and go undetected beneath the radar. Barry Bonds just happened to be caught in the middle of the Balco scandal.

Don't these steroid abusers realize that they can't lie their way out of it? People see the physical, social and mental transformation that they go through.

My opinion on Barry Bonds? He has not earned the right to break Hank Aaron's title. It means nothing to many people when he breaks the record. In my heart, Hank Aaron holds the title. My family will not attend San Francisco Giants baseball games as a personal protest against Bonds/Balco/and "Performance Enhancing Drugs."

I think it would be appropriate if the opposing teams/pitchers that Bonds will be facing in the near future, give him a free ride to first base. In other words, walk him until the end of the season. Let him go through the mental and emotional process of having to wait another season to break the record. I would also suggest that you read the books "Juiced" and "Game of Shadows" for more information.