Jemele Hill on Barry Bonds; 'Just looking out for her own'?

ESPN presumably knew when they hired Jemele Hill that she would be a black woman writing about the degradation of black athletes in sports. I believe we're mostly beyond that in sports, and consequently I read such articles with more scrutiny.

I was amazed at the several fallacious race and non-race based statements and conclusions in her writings about Barry Bonds on her ESPN Page Two columns. Some of her opinions with my responses are listed below.

• Jemele Hill is quick to dismiss who she calls the "apologists," who she says are tough on Bonds but not critical enough on the likes of Rick Ankiel and Andy Pettite. But she is one of Bonds greatest apologists.

Hill argues that Bonds was not the Kingpin of the Balco scandal and that the investigation and indictment of Bonds was unnecessary and even a waste of taxpayer money. According to Hill, Bonds is just the prostitute to the pimp, the crackhead to the drug dealer, and the wayward child to the enabling parent.

Wow! I submit to you that anyone that buys that wants a world of self-made victims who richly enjoy the spoils of their bad deeds and later on face no accountability for their dishonesty.

Nonetheless her line of thinking goes along with what the government and its umbrella agencies try to do, in going for the source of the problem instead of the the end users. The Balco case is not different, at least it was not originally. The government only went after Bonds after he allegedly committed perjury in court, despite assurances he would not be prosecuted if he was truthful.

Miss Hill wants us to overlook a figure (Bonds) that has had a huge corrosive impact on society and who has completely desecrated the game we love, while laughing all the way to the bank to the tune of many millions. Besides the millions in contracts and endorsements you can go to the store at Barry Bonds website and you'll have a hard time finding a signed item that sells for under $500.

ESPN is actually paying Ms. Hill to antagonize our government for pursuing this guy who cares nothing about anyone or anything while taking away glorious records and making millions upon millions. Bonds is not merely a crackhead to the drug dealer. He is a public figure and is accountable for his impact on the public and in this case against the public. Moreover he has spit upon generations of baseball players and fans.

• Jemele Hill writes, "I've been as tough on Bonds as anyone."

That is just a HUGE LIE. Listed are some of Ms. Hill's stances on Bonds issues. Some of my responses to the points follow the dashes.

1. Bonds "deserves" to be in the Hall of Fame, even though you believe he did steroids.
   
2. Any talk of putting asterisks is "just flat out silly."
   
3. The decision to indict Bonds on obstruction of justice and perjury "isn't right, fair, or just," in addition to her calling it a "terrible injustice."
   
4. Bonds has broke time honored records, but his biggest crime is against his own legacy and conscious. -Not against the millions who have honored and revered the game of baseball for over a century?
   
5. Bonds never got caught "red-handed," - Even though we all know he ("unknowingly") used clear steroid cream. (Not to mention the confiscated samples that have come to light since Ms. Hill wrote that.)
   
6. The Hall of Fame should not accept Bonds record-breaking 756 home run ball.
   
7. She proclaimed Bonds as the "Home Run King" and nearly gloated about Bonds All-Star appearance in the face of the government being unable to indict Bonds (before the indictment).
   
8. Claimed that a nobody like Rick Ankiel deserves the same exact scrutiny that Bonds gets and therefore, implying that Bonds worst critics are driven by racial politics.

Nope, last time I checked those opinions are not that of a Bonds critic, let alone someone "as tough on Bonds as anyone." And those were just the bullet point defenses of Ms. Hill. In the interest of time and readability I didn't elaborate on her more drawn out defenses on Bonds behalf.

• Jemele Hill writes, "Now that golden boy Ankiel has been caught, something tells me people will be much more eager to talk sensibly about performance-enhancing drugs. They certainly weren't willing to talk about it when Bonds' king-sized head was on the chopping block."

Golden boy? This isn't boxing and white people are not rallying around Rick Ankiel like he's the great white hope. Secondly, Ankiel, Glaus, Tejada, Palmiero or anyone else that she wants to throw out there has little bearing on the Bonds dynamic (aside from their collective/cultural impact). In addition to possible perjury, he cheated while arrogantly proclaiming his readiness to assume the mantle of the game's greatest player of all-time (A stance he later softened on as he tried to reinvent himself as more humanistic and sensitive).

The implication is that Bonds has been targeted more because he is black. He has not been. One mitigating factor that did invite more scrutiny than he otherwise would have received would be his outright disdain towards many in the media, his peers and the general public. Truth be told, Hank Aaron faced the a fading yet still racist segment of the population that looked to discredit him. But now Aaron is revered for his character and skill. We admire him and see Bonds actions for what they are; black on black and white crime. Or in other words, race is inconsequential to the debate.

The public and media aren't giving Ankiel a "pass" because he's white. We're giving him a pass (not really) for the same reason we're giving a pass to Rondell White a pass. Because their impact on the problem is what accountants would call immaterial. Take those two away and the same exact problems and issues would exist. Take away Bonds and the dynamic would be radically different.

• Jemele Hill writes, "A double standard the size of Bonds' head is being exercised with Ankiel, whose involvement with a human growth hormone scandal is being rationalized by some fans and members of the media."

Some fans. Do we really need to confuse the issue with what some fans are saying. I could go on message boards and find every type of opinion imaginable, so I don't care what some fans are saying. I also have no idea what members of the media she is referring to, but I believe the media has given us clear information regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding the allegations, and the rest of us fans can make proper value judgments.

As far as the alleged double standard goes, I don't know if she means a double standard as far as steroid users compared to HGH users or if she is going back to the alleged black and white double standard.

Mark McGwire, a white man was suspected of using HGH the year in which he broke the single season home run record. Depending on who you ask, human growth hormones either directly increase strength, or indirectly increase strength by allowing for quicker recovery times. Though illegal (if not prescribed), HGH was not a banned substance (unlike other anabolic substances) until the 2005 season.

If McGwire is guilty of HGH use, is what he did worse than what Bonds did? I would say that McGwire cheated. But I can see the gray area and even the rationale of why others may downplay his actions. I can say that he acted unethically and broke the law of the land, if the suspicions are true. Its just not enough at this point to say that what he has done is comparable to what Bonds did.

I will not say a double standard exists regarding the treatment of Bonds and McGwire (nor should Ms. Hill) when the situations surrounding Bonds and McGwire clearly are different.

McGwire was illusive in not answering any questions regarding his possible HGH use on Capital Hill in an open hearing. He exercised his 5th Amendment right to not incriminate himself. But he has otherwise paid the biggest possible price possible in the court of public opinion. He then left the public spotlight. He has not threatened to boycott the Hall of Fame if he is voted in either.

Conversely Bonds, who has stayed in the spotlight, was offered full indemnification (promised not to be prosecuted) if he only told the truth regarding his alleged steroid use in a closed trial. Jason Giambi, a white man understood the scope of the situation and faced the music. Bonds ever wanton to preserve himself as the greatest player of all time, seemingly committed perjury, while once again showing us that he believes he is above everything.

Three players on the 2007 Hall of Fame ballot had traditional 2007 credentials; Tony Gwynn (a black man) Cal Ripken Jr (a white man), and Mark McGwire. The first two got easily got in. Many may still affectionately call McGwire, Big Mac, but the media is clearly biding time to see if he cheated or not as he only garnered 23.5 percent of 75 percent required to be voted into the Hall of Fame . Chances are that even if McGwire is never officially condemned for steroid or HGH use, it'll be the Veteran's Committee that puts him in the Hall of Fame.

Even before the perjury indictment, a debate raged about whether Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame if he were never proven to have knowingly taken steroids. Prevailing opinion seemed to allow him entrance (maybe not on the first ballot) based on his Hall Of Fame credentials prior to 1998, when he allegedly started using steroids.

That debate has not seemed to take place in the case of Roger Clemens, a white man, who also had Hall of Fame credentials before his alleged HGH use starting in 1998. Yet Clemens won four of his seven Cy Young awards before 1998 to Bonds three of his seven MVP awards before 1998.

There is no racial double standard. Pete Rose, is legitimately baseball's all-time hits leader. Yet if Major League Baseball were to allow him on the Hall Of Fame ballot, he would quite possibly (I would argue 'likely') not get voted in. Yet if he were a black man, we could be sure the likes of Jemele Hill would be throwing out the race card. Because if she can throw it out in the case of Barry Bonds, absent any actual proof or even solid appearance of impropriety, then that default mode has been established for her to use on the many plausible but not likely assertions at her disposal.

• Jemele Hill writes, "The government has spent some $6 million to catch a baseball player (Bonds) who mostly committed a crime against himself and his legacy."

All of that extra tax revenue the juicers brought should easily cover that tab. Spending $6 million to set an example for our nation's youth is an honorable endeavor. Arguing about spending $6 million to fix a national problem of this magnitude is trite. Not to mention increased media tax dollars cover the tab many times over.

As for Bonds legacy; its clear he just showed his selfish stripes before he seemingly committed perjury. Bonds once told a teammate that he could not give him batting tips, because one day he might be on another team one day and use his tips against him.

Bonds legacy started at Arizona State when he was so hated, that his own team voted off their most talented player (Bonds), the spoiled son of a major leaguer. His legacy will be that of a player that did not win championship in a team game because he was never a team player. Fair to say? Fair enough. There were undoubtedly Bonds teammates that likely took consolation in losing the 2002 World Series that Bonds would not have glory added to him and went ring-less. He can have all the gold necklaces around his neck he wants, but he is not getting the jewelry that counts, a departing Jeff Kent probably gloated in his mind, though he would never admit so.

I was at Game 1 of that World Series. I saw Bonds playing about 20 to 25 feet more shallow than what I thought he should be at. With his ego, he likely believed he could cover the space. I said to myself if he continues to play that shallow he'll get burned. It took the better part of six games, but then it happened. Troy Glaus hit a fly ball to left field that would have been caught by most left fielders playing in normal position. Barry Bonds gave it a good run, and helplessly raised his mit as the ball sailed over his head and the game winning runs crossed the plate.

It wasn't a sharp liner to left, it wasn't a fly to gap. It was a catch able ball hit to left field, short of the warning track by the Angels most powerful hitter. It was never even reported that Bonds was simply playing too shallow. But how fitting that Bonds did not even lose his ring to the apathy of his teammates he seethed at, but by his own deficiencies.

Conclusion

Long before Bonds seemingly committed perjury for lying about using steroids, everyone outside of San Francisco (and the black community) believed Bonds was cheating. We had to shake our heads when Bonds would miss the ball by a quarter of an inch on ball in on his hands (or off the end of the bat) and that can of corn still went over the wall by fifteen feet. We had to watch as he stood in the box an extra couple seconds to admire his shots. We watched as he stomped home plate and pointed to the Heavens as if his shots were divinely sanctioned. And when milestones were reached we witnessed the joyless reactions of his very own teammates over and over again.

Baseball is a unique sport. A sport in which the nuances of the hit and run, the squeeze play, sacrifice fly, move the man over, lefty vs lefty match-ups, bust him inside to get the outside corner, let's play two, father and son go to the ballgame and have a dog, and so forth has long been cherished traditions of baseball fans.

But chicks dig the long ball and so does the slam-dunk crowd. The sensationalism of juicing brought in record revenues, but this was not anything pure baseball fans ever overlooked (as opposed to the idea that it is merely a racial issue).

Many of us were talking sensibly about the unfair edges many baseball players were taking. We know why media members and especially MLB looked the other way from Bonds. The almighty dollar was in play. I would say that Bud Selig should be fired for his omissions in dealing with cheating. But I will not justify letting Bonds off the hook based on whether another player or executive gets his or not.

Bonds may have not been the "kingpin" of steroid era. But he is the crown jewel, and the Revolution has begun. Off with his Giant-sized head, the crowd is demanding (metaphorically speaking).

I will not apologize that Bonds through his actions became the poster boy for cheating. I condemn all cheaters, but the most prolific, most despicable, most obvious cheaters are naturally going to get more attention. Bonds put his own king-sized head on the chopping block Jemele Hill. But she stuck her hand in there and tried to stop the blade.