As Floyd Landis parades around France, declaring his innocence, hundreds of syringes are heaved at him; his security agents parrying as many as possible. Millions of Americans are flooding sports-radio phone lines, anxious to divulge their inner hatred for the man. Apparently, Landis is preparing to embark on his own TV show, Landis on Landis, to be aired on ESPN.
Oh -- wait -- that’s Barry Bonds, the man who has never tested positive. But how can this be? Certainly, the evidence is much more convincing when it comes to Floyd Landis. Many contend it’s a matter of racism -- but is that really true? Do we really hate the man because he’s black? I think not.
In a world full of rap music, a predominantly black profession; music which millions of Caucasian people listen to with regularity -- are they just trying to diversify the ethnicities of those who sing the music they enjoy? In a world of judicial activism which is, many times, exploited to mollify any animosity which remains between races, Brown-vs-Board-of-Eductation-style -- are they just trying something new? In a world where it's politically incorrect to call someone of a minority-race a racist, when whites are incessantly accused of the crime -- are we just being nice? All good questions.
These days, African-Americans dominate sports; with the exception of NASCAR and the NHL, there is seldom a sport where one cannot find much diversity in ethnicities and color. Is there still racism today? Of course. But to the point where baseball fans and non-viewers alike disgrace a baseball player simply because of his color? It's just unreasonable to believe such a thing.
The Barry Bonds malevolence goes much deeper than skin-color -- this is a matter of the public's apprehensiveness towards the breaking of cherished records such as Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron's, we want to believe that to break such a record is impossible and that there must be a explanation for said success. It is for this reason that we are fleeceable when it comes to accusations of cheating aimed at Barry Bonds. Jump to conclusions? Absolutely!
Where's the positive test? We have all the circumstantial evidence one could ask for, so if the case is so solid; why haven't we been able to trace any of the drugs that we seem to "know" he's taking? Wouldn't it be easy to conduct an experiment, knowing the outcome of the operation before carrying it out? I guess not.
And some will be quick to point out that drug developers are "far more advanced" than the drug testers, even though the social-perception of steroid use is negative, making the number of doctors working to prevent drug use far more than those who promote it. Even if this was true, are we assuming that Floyd Landis didn't have access to these smarter doctors, who can mask heavy drug use through four years of rigorous testing -- drug use which the testers are indefatigably trying to prove.
No -- we have the defense for good old Floyd. He's clean, and we know it! Alleging that he was involved in flagitious activity is just counterfactual and Barmecidal -- or some would assert. It all relates back to our flagrant nationalism in times of vain for our country-at-war, which leads to wide-spread antipathy towards the French; thus making American dominance of an event hosted by France even more gratifying. We want Floyd Landis to be innocent. One can't say the same about Barry Bonds.
What about those French scientists? All hidden away in their secret laboratories, scheming various ways to conspire against Floyd Landis, who they somehow knew was going to win the race -- what about those guys? After all, everyone knows French scientists hate American cyclists -- didn't Thomas Paine write about that hatred in Common Sense? The chances of something of the sort are just about as high as a Fourth of July Parade in North Korea. With the risk of extreme American antagonism if their plot was ever discovered, it is quite doubtful that France would try to nullify Floyd Landis' without just cause.
And if this is the reason for the skepticism towards the test results against Floyd Landis -- then is it so farfetched and ridiculous to believe that the MLB might be doing something similar? Certainly the MLB wants Barry Bonds to be proven guilty as much as the French want to see Floyd Landis' title taken away. Where are the conspiracy theories on this one? Oh -- right, there hasn't been a positive test, I'm sorry, I keep on forgetting.
Nobody has robbed Floyd Landis of a Tour de France yellow-jacket. In fact, it's quite Pecksniffian to question Landis' guilt when one declares Bonds' with rabid passion. The rules are the rules -- when a racer tests positive for a banned substance, their title is revoked, period. This is the stringent system that many are pushing for in Major League Baseball, and perhaps there is a middle-ground between the uncompromising attitude of the Tour de France officials towards drug use and the indifferent attitude of MLB officials -- but the French have banned people of many different countries, including favorites Jan Ullrich of Germany, Ivan Basso of Italy, Oscar Sevilla of Spain, as well as Rudy Pevenage of Belgium -- it's safe to say that the French seem to care much more about the integrity of their sport than the Americans do, at this point.
Maybe it's time to start accepting the truth about Floyd Landis, no matter how hard it might be.
Northsider Landis' problem is one of his own making and now he's trying to wrangle his way out of it. He obviously doesn't have the brains that God gave to realize that trouble was brewing from the time he decided to follow this course of events.
As for Bonds the action being taken by MLB to me is reprehensible as it's all to much.
Their actions to towards this problem should've been immediate and repsonsive. Now the situation is like a cancerous growth that shows no signs of receding.
Many people I think if Bonds would only address the allegations in a forthright manner and answer the questions truthfully then we'd be able to move on. But in the current light of things Bonds chooses not to and seeks the empathy of the public to belie his woes.
there's only one thing youre missing here, and it not your fault. what youre missing is the experience of being barry bond or someone like barry bonds. for all our progressiveness, we're still a country of classes. people stay in their places. companies hire hourly workers that are female or black, but when you look into upper management, you dont see the same diverity (see: baseball, football, ect.)
america hates Barry Bonds because america is an Angry White man. google the stereotype. it's ok to be black and successful. but its not OK to flaunt it. not for blacks. Matt Leinhart is a rich, pretty boy who's entire attitude screams condescention. bonds is just as rich, just as pompous but is hated for it. i've seen this up close and personal my entire life. sure, poor white folk look at rich white folk with scorn. but the surest way to turn an entire room full of white (poor and rich) against you is to be black, successful and confident in your success. people hate bonds - whether they want to admit it or not. cont==>
check out a comment a blogger left for me once "he is typical of the people I do know that think the world somehow owes them something and wears his chip on his shoulder for all to see!"
this is a common attitude towards aggressively ambitious blacks. no one likes a winner. but EVERYONE hates a black winner. think about your favorite black athletes. find one that doesnt mumble to reporters. find one that answers questions asked of him like a man. then stare in wonder at screams of 'arrogant' 'self - centered' '####.' Wasnt Peyton Manning arrogant? Didnt hethrow his OLine under the bus? What about Eli? where's my article decrying Shockey? What about The Rocket - he plays where he wants, when he wants to. oh i got one for you - Brett Favre. i'm still waiting for my 168 straight hours on ESPN telling me why Brett Favre is a horrible teammate and should retire. it'll never happen. but let barry ask reporters to only ask him about baseball... bonds was hated prior to the steroids deal. this steroids thing gives the crabs (check crab in pot theorum) a chance to latch their undercover racism onto him. 'i dont hate him cuz he's black, i hate him cuz he's a ####' well, a lot of white athletes use steroid and are complete #### - but no one's throwing syringes at THEM.
Last edited by demonicume on August 15th at 6:22 AM.
Demon no offense here but you are way off topic here. Angry White Man? You sound like a Black Panther for crying out loud..lol. So just b/c there are not a certain number of blacks in upper management in baseball and football means racism is to blame? Come on now. So what is the magic number? We will always be a conutry of classes, just like every other country out there. The difference is when a rich guy white or black making millions of dollars acts like a child and treats people badly. Jeff Kent, Barry Bonds, Will Clark, T.O., etc. Everyone hates a black winner? This is far fetched don't ya think? Arrogant self? Barry Sanders was a class act on and off the field and he is black. What about Big Papi? or The Bus? I think you need to reevaluate all this b/c it comes off like a rich guy whining about the troubles that come along with $10 million.
mtcmtc33, Bonds a cheater? Last time I've checked there has been no positive test, what happened to innocent until proven guilty? I forgot you people don't believe in such.
You people? What kind of people am I exactly? I have my opinion about Bonds and you don't have to be a genious to view the information and see that he has been on the juice.
I guess the whole group of Bonds, Canseco, McGwuire, Sosa are all innocent.
I do appreciate your willingness to stand by your man but I can't.
not that i'm defending landis here..but something caught my eye. the part about if he had access to the advanced drugs and masking blah blah blah...he may have had access, but i doubt he could afford them. just my opinion of course.
as for bonds, i still believe 1 of the main reasons for him being the center of all this, and many believing his guilt, are because of his attitude toward the fans and media. i think for the most part the fans in SF only stand by him because he plays there and, up until this season, was arguably the best player in baseball, whether it was by natural ability alone or with help.
after about the 2rd paragraph, i couldnt read it anymore...no offense, but words like indefatigably and flagitious and pecksniffian not only arent in my vocabulary, they're also not in my handy pocket student dictionary, and i dont have the ambition to look them up online.
1 more thing about landis (i guess this is sort of defending him). how could his test be sky high 1 day and not the next? he gave samples for tests AFTER the positive 1, and they didnt come back with an outrageous ratio....from what i've learned, that is as impossible as taking steroids once and getting dramatic results such as the 8 minute deficit he made up in 1 day. do i believe he's guilty? i dont believe we'll ever know for certain, and i dont think we'll ever know about bonds either.
its all good LSU, i was working in comments someone dropped on my blog a long time ago that really opened my eyes. so we have the bonds media circus. we have to TO media circus. but where's the Palmero media circus? where's the Eli/ Peyton craziness. who's tossing syringes at Mike Piazza.
if you hate a loud mouth simply because he'sa loud mouth - then fine. but barry bonds isnt a loud mouth. he just plays ball. he never tested positive - and to top it all off: the drugs he supposedly did were legal when he did them.
no one can deny that the black athletes are being treated differently here. hate TO for being a loud mouth, insensitive ####. but give shockey his due. wanna toss syringes at someone, toss them at mike piazza or raphael palmeiro. what about that pitcher who got busted with the HGH in his home? where's his media circus. you say it aint about race. i'm telling you it looks like it is. prove me wrong. find a 3 white guys equally crucified in the press.
Hey Demonicume - OJ was found not guilty. I still think the guy was guilty. Bonds is a self absorbed primadonna. I don't like him. The "pitcher" is out of baseball. Piazza...I hate him. Palmiero, out of baseball. McGwire, out of baseball. Giambi, well...he came clean, cried, apologized and admitted it. Bonds and his ever growing head continue to say stupid #### and avoid any type of scrutiny or questioning....but to say that just because he has never tested positive so he's innocent?
Why is it that when a black celebrity is called out, it's because of racism. I have as many black friends as white. My wife is a woman of color. My sister in law is black. I will not hesitate to tell a person of any race or color that I don't like him/her. If they want to play the race card...fine with me. Racism will exist as long as people blame their own shortcomings on the color of their own skin or their nation of origin. Do you want "EQUALITY"? If the answer is YES, then allow me to dislike you as much as I dislike some white Irish-Catholic Americans with #### for brains. Don't expect me to treat you differently or walk on egg shells because you're not the same as me. I prefer women with "C" cups over "DD". I prefer brunettes over redheads and I prefer college basketball to pro. Maybe there's a label for all of that as well.
Now excuse me...I have to get to my Regional White Guy's Meeting. The agenda is filled with new ways to oppress black, rich, millionairre baseball players. Tomorrow I'm going to the "Keep the Mexicans out of California Rally". PLEASE stop blaming God given di
hey, ya'll, lets be clear on this, i'm not saying that anyone who hates Bonds is a racist. thats not what i meant to say, anyways. there are plenty of reasons to hate the guy that have nothing to do with race. i dont believe that the average person - black or white - is a racist. my wife, as i've said before, is anglo. my brother and son are half white. but we cant deny that the media mis-profiles black athletes. thats just the way it is. didnt some white pitcher beat up his wife the other day? i dont know his name cuz it was on TV for 20 minutes. then his club apologized for him. but we heard about TO for 2 weeks straight.
we shouldnt break down into black versus white here. its really us versus the media.
OJ is guilty. we all know that. that was a travesty of the law. we have to accept that the DA couldnt prove OJ was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. thank the racist LAPD for letting a murderer walk free. if they werent so busy beating ####s and blacks, and then lying on the stand about it, OJ wouldnt have been able to throw up that smokescreen.
demonicume If I'm to understand you , you're of the belief that a sports personality who's a minority will always get treated differently dependent on his circumstances or
economic well being. Well what the hell this has been going on ever since the existence of this country. Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens had a greater burden to to bare than Bonds and didn't act the way he has done. That has been his problem from the outset seeking empathy rather than being truthfull.
Last edited by tophatal on August 15th at 11:42 AM.
I tried to post a comment on your 6 faces of Zidane blog but It wouldn't let me so I just wanted to say.. Classic!! I haven't laughed so hard in ages. Cheers.
I see what you're saying Demonicume, but I don't think racism is the prevalent issue here. Is there some racism involved in the nearly universal hatred of Barry Bonds? Yes. Is it the dominant issue? I don't think so.
What other black athlete has been crucified the way Bonds has been? Have any other athletes been such a martyr for the steroids era the way Bonds has? I think the answer to that is an easy no.
ok, i think that, in general, the media misrepresents minorities. they keep up the old stereotypes and prejudices. its hard to fault them because you always do what works. if its not racism, then why so much news coverage? there are worse players out there than barry.didnt some guy get caught with the stuff? where is his reality show? why arent the pundits dragging him thru the gauntlet? but lets be real for a moment: we dont really know what Jesse owens went thru or the type of person he was - we didnt have a 24 hour news cycle back then. but barry never asked for sympathy. he plays for the love of the game. you never hear him screaming about money or respect. he just goes to the plate and hits the ball a mile. true he doesnt have much personality - thats not a crime. i dont know why fans think that he owes them something. i've never given barry a cent, so if he deigns not to speak to me - oh-####-well. i dont talk to random people who've never done a thing for me - so why hold him to that ridiculous standard? why do we expect him to be humble and kow tow to our bruised egos?
has he failed a drug test yet? last i checked people were innocent until proven guilty...
Provocative piece, Northsider. Great opening, too. I have thought about the difference in American perception between Bonds and Lance Armstrong, since allegations surround each. But only one of them is a media darling. So I do agree with the idea that people want to believe Landis. He sorta picked up where Armstrong left off, especially with the revelation of his hip degenration and his comeback in Stage 17. I'm not ready to call it done; he has a right to his appeal. But I am not claiming his innocence. I like cycling, so I am not blind to what goes on. Besides, part of me still wants to believe Tyler Hamilton... that situation jaded me.
One thing I see that may be potentially misleading. Or maybe you know something I don't. The investigation that resulted in the absence of many riders originated in Spain. Ulrich & Basso were then suspended by their teams. Have the French banned them in some way? I do know that the Tour organizers did ask teams to withdraw, because of Operacion Puerto.
An interesting note on that as well: Many of the cyclists that were implicated in the Spanish investigation have since been cleared.
Demon, Bonds gets a lot of media attention because he is an alleged cheater closing in on one of baseball's hallowed records. Personally, I believe if Mark McGwire and his steroid controversy were sitting on 723 career homeruns, the media attention would be comparable. I think Bonds' abrasive personality adds fuel to the media's fire, adding to the intensity that surrounds him.
There is definitely some racism regarding Bonds, but I'd say it's only a small part of the saga.
I agree with you in that I could care less what athletes give back to the fans and media. Technically, I help pay the Phillies' salaries by attending games and purchasing food from vendors and such, but if Chase Utley blew me off or if Tom Gordon refused to sign an autograph, I wouldn't pay any mind to it. Personally, I believe that if I were in their shoes, I would be very reluctant to do anything for a fanbase that has the potential to turn on me at any given second. So, I sympathize with athletes regarding the fans they have to put up with, always with a smile on their face.
I have said this before, Bonds is guilty by science. When he started his career he was mainly a slim guy, and now he's a monster. Anyone with a frame that size can not get that big without drugs, it is only possible if you workout like a mad person for at least 6 days a weak twice a day. Mlb players play 6 games a week on average and the offseason is short. And to get that big that fast. It takes alot more time, then the time he did it in. I do a little body building myself, I have asked trainers how you get that big with a frame like that and that fast. (steriods) I have the same frame Bonds has. fairly slim. I may be wrong, but odds are he used steriods.
NBAfan, while I do think Bonds used steroids -- and couldn't care less -- he is guilty until innocent. He's not "guilty by science," because science thus far has proven him innocent, as he has yet to fail a drug test.
As for your claim that one cannot become bigger, as Bonds did, by way of weight-lifting et cetera, that is not true. People commonly gain weight as they age, and Bonds, believe it or not, is a "workout-a-holic." You will be hard pressed to find someone in any area of life who dedicates himself to his trade as much as Bonds does.
If you were picking steroid users out of a lineup using this "bigger" theory of yours, you would never have caught players like Alex Sanchez, Ryan Franklin, or Jason Grimsley.
I think he used steroids not because he gained weight, or has a big head, or because he hit 73 HR; I think he used steroids because I think a good portion of players in the 1990's used steroids. And, like I said, I could care less.
I am an avid sports writer in my part of town and am active in expressing my opinion (at times, I can get carried away, yes). I am known by many as a die-hard Beatles fan and I always get people talking about my constant references to them. Not only do I find them to be the best band to ever grace the planet, thus far, but I also find them a very good source for comparison in my articles. Hope you enjoy my articles on here as I'm just getting started, and I am always open for commentary.
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