Bonds, steroids focus of attention, By: John Jackson
April 19, 2006, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF
Barry Bonds was in a dugout in Arizona Monday night, but his presence was strongly felt in Petaluma where he was the focus of attention as San Francisco Chronicle investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams discussed their book "Game of Shadows."
The authors acknowledged that one-third of their book is devoted to Bonds because of his fame as a home run hitter and potential holder of one of baseball most cherished records -- the mark for most career home runs. The remainder of the book looks at the federal investigation into BALCO and steroid use in all sports, including baseball, football and track and field.
But the majority of the audience at Copperfield's Books, where the authors appeared, were Bonds-focused.
Williams wasted no time getting to the heart of the book's story.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Barry Bonds and a group of high-level athletes used banned substances supplied to them by that drug factory (BALCO)," he said.
The book paints an unflattering portrait of Bonds, who Williams described as a "fascinating" character who is "self-absorbed," "self-indulgent" and "pragmatic to the point of cynicism" about the game of baseball.
Even more fascinating, according to Petaluma resident Fainaru-Wada, is Conte, who went from junior college dropout and failed rock musician to manipulator of, and drug supplier to, some of the world's biggest sports stars.
The author said Conte's drive to be the center of attention inadvertently led the reporters to Bonds and other well-known athletes. "He couldn't help himself," Fainaru-Wada said.
"The first we learned that Bonds was hooked up with BALCO was from Victor Conte's Web site," noted Williams.
"He was the first to let us know that Bonds had been subpoenaed by the grand jury," Fainaru-Wada pointed out.
After the authors' brief introduction, they opened things up for what turned out to be a lively question-and-answer session.
"As a Giants fan, I really see this as anti-Giant and un-American," said one young man wearing a Barry Bonds No. 25 baseball jersey. "This not evidence. It feels like this is the same as a world trial. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?"
"That is the standard in a court of law," acknowledged Williams. "The book isn't a trial. The book is reporting. It started with what was going on at this steroid mill (BALCO). We saw steroids as a problem that needs to be controlled."
"We didn't link Barry Bonds to steroids until we started reporting about the story," added Fainaru-Wada. "There is no getting around that Barry is chasing one of the most hallowed records in all of sports. It is hard to get away from Barry being a part of the story."
In answer to a question about how the reporters obtained secret grand jury testimony, Williams said there would have been no book if it weren't for the secretive manner in which the government handled its investigation into BALCO.
"Under ordinary circumstances, we would never have written the book, because it all would have been known in summer of 2000," he explained.
He said the government secrecy led "confidential news sources" to provide the reporters with information because "they felt the truth should come out."
The authors said steroid use is a continuing danger to professional baseball.
"If baseball doesn't lasso the problem, it puts itself in great peril," said Fainaru-Wada. "It is in danger of becoming like pro wrestling where there is a hard-core group of fans, but everyone else says 'Why waste your time, it's all a show?'"
How widespread is the use of steroids in baseball?
Fainaru-Wada pointed out that Ken Caminiti, when he acknowledged his use in 2002, put the number at 50 percent of all baseball players, while Jose Canseco in his book put the number at 80 percent.
Williams addressed directly the motive for writing the book, and one audience member's implied accusation that the book was written strictly for profit.
"It takes me a year to make what Barry Bonds makes in six innings," he said. "We wrote the book to reach an audience, to have an impact and to do some good. If we do happen to make some money, that is good."
While the authors spoke inside Copperfield's, a small group of young people held protest signs outside the store. One of the signs read, "Book of lies."
"There is no evidence (that Bonds used steroids)," said protestor David Elwick. "They won't release their sources. They (the sources) are probably some 6-year-old who scribbled something in crayon on the back of a newspaper. Barry has passed every drug test they have given him."
