Column: Bonds' feats should overshadow steroid allegations, By: Cedrique Flemming

April 13, 2006, Kansas State Collegian

Barry Lamar Bonds is chasing one of the most coveted records in all of professional sports — the homerun record.

Bonds is the left-fielder for the San Francisco Giants and currently sits in third place for career homeruns with 708. He is just six behind the infamous Babe Ruth (714) and 47 behind Homerun King Hank Aaron (755).

We, as a baseball nation, should be celebrating this man's accomplishments and showering him with praise. But for some reason, the baseball society is way too quick to judge people and frown after every ball he hits out of the park.

I firmly believe in the phrase "innocent until proven guilty," and too many baseball fans have forgotten this concept.

Bonds recently has taken a ton of heat for speculation regarding steroid abuse at some point in his career, especially the year he hit a single-season high of 73 homeruns.

Let me ask you one question, though. Has he ever tested positive for steroids?

The answer is no.

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, writers from the San Francisco Chronicle, recently published a book called "Game of Shadows." The book outlines in detail Bonds' alleged steroid use.

Did they see him do it?

Not at all, and, as far as I'm concerned, he never did.

These two guys decided to write a book that would make them a ton of money because everybody would want to read it.

This makes sense to me, because I also like money, and a book like that would bring me a lot more income, which is always nice.

See, anybody can write a book about something, but I'll take concrete drug test results over a biased book written by a couple of haters any day. Those two guys never saw Bonds take steroids, and, again, he has never tested positive.

So until he does, I will always love Bonds, and I will always back him and say he is the greatest player ever to play Major League Baseball.

I am privileged to know I will be able to tell my kids about the times I watched Bonds play. Let's look at some of his accomplishments during his long-tenured career, shall we?

He has been selected as an All Star 13 times. He has won a record seven Most Valuable Player awards and eight Gold Glove Awards. He is the only player in baseball history to have at least 500 homeruns and 500 stolen bases, and no other player has ever reached even 400-400.

What's even more amazing about Bonds' homerun total is that he owns the career record for walks, with more than 2,300. He also owns the top-three single-season intentional walk totals (120, 68, 61), which goes to show people are scared to pitch to the guy and have been for years.

Bonds is rolling on into his 40s now, and his swing is deteriorating, which is apparent in the fact that he has not hit a homerun this season.

But all you Bonds haters out there need not worry because his bat is just resting, and it will awaken soon. He will catch Ruth, and hopefully, will stay healthy enough to break Aaron's record.

If he were to catch Aaron, that would be the most memorable moment in sports for me since former Dallas Cowboy all-world running back Emmitt Smith broke the career-rushing record.

Bonds is an amazing athlete, and the only thing I have to say is, do your thing, man.

Don't worry about all the haters and keep swinging that bat.

I'll be here rooting for you.