The NY Times reports:
Judge Susan Illston sentenced him to 30 days of house arrest, 2 years of probation, 250 hours of community service with youth groups and a $4,000 fine for providing evasive testimony to a federal grand jury eight years ago.
Let me tell you why this is bogus:
1) He lied. Clearly (no pun intended).
2) 30 days of house arrest in his $10 million dollar home? Oh the horror, the horror!
3) A $4000 fine on a guy whose net worth is $80 million dollars is laughable. Even 10 times that about is what the guy spends on a vacation most years.
4) A community service situation: Laughable. Hey kids, here’s what you can learn from Barry Bonds–how to beat the rap!
5) Perhaps the 2 year probation is the most fair. After all, could Bonds keep his nose clean for 2 years? Doubtful.
Even with all of this Bonds is never going to be looked on as the Home Run King. He’s a cheater. Period. And while he’s not the only one, he’s still the most prolific one. And before someone says that I’m a racist, Clemens, McGwire, Palmeiro, Sosa and now Ryan Braun are also cheaters.
Baseball should wash their hands of anyone found guilty on the dreaded list at this point. Mostly because it seems that nobody else will.