Barry Bonds and the BALCO Controversy - Conclusion
By Michael Williams (7/24/2006)
The BALCO Trial
The BALCO controversy culminated in a trial, with
four defendants on the BALCO side. Two were especially prominent: Victor Conte
and Greg Anderson. Conte, who owned The Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, was
under investigation for both drug sales and money laundering. He was accused by
the U.S Anti-Doping Agency of providing athletes with a newly designed steroid –
THG. Anderson, on the other hand, was under investigation due to the fact that a
raid on his condominium turned up steroids as well as the names of athletes who
supposedly used them.
In what was tantamount to an admission of guilt, all four defendants in the
BALCO scandal would later cut deals with the prosecuting team. They were not,
however, required to supply the names of the athletes they supplied the steroids
to.
Anderson’s guilt, Bond’s own testimony, and the incredible change in Bond’s own
physique all seems to point to one thing: that Barry Bonds, the would-be
baseball legend, used steroids to become what he is today. Despite the fact that
Barry Bonds has passed every steroid test he’s taken, fans all over the world
have their doubts. The fact that there is no test for HGH, or the human growth
hormone, certainly doesn’t help. Bonds has long been accused of injecting the
chemical.
Almost the entire baseball world now believes that Bonds has taken
performance-enhancing drugs over the past decade. Whether he used them knowingly
or unknowingly is something we may never know. One thing is for sure, however.
Baseball fans will always have to take the accomplishments of Barry Bonds with a
grain of salt.
Barry Bonds and the BALCO Controversy Part One
Barry Bonds and the BALCO Controversy Part Two
Barry Bonds and the BALCO Controversy Part Three |