I'm one of those guys who's willing to give the benefit of the doubt. I freely give trust until there is reason to do otherwise. I'm unassuming and, therefore, probably a bit naive.
I'm not going to judge Barry Bonds and his history making 756th home run tonight against the Washington Nationals. But I know that his pursuit of one of sports most hallowed records has turned him into an angry and bitter man.
If he has nothing to hide, then why has Bonds become so angry?
It doesn't matter if Bonds is ever found guilty of knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs. A cloud of doubt hangs over him and that's enough in itself.
Even in my own industry I have watched and learned that winning at all cost is not really winning at all - it's merely wagering against your own integrity.
If you get away with it, then you "win" - provided that your own guilty conscience doesn't turn you into a disheartened and empty soul. But if you don't get away with it, you lose so much more than just home run records. The worst being that doubt forever follows your name, as does an asterisk.
There's plenty of glory and praise out there to be had if you're willing to pay the price. But true glory, the kind that fills a man's heart and soul, can only be found by doing whatever it takes to do whatever is right so that there is never a shadow of doubt.
7 comments:
I agree Wade, and like the article. Related to your post, my view is that unless a person can be proven to have done things that would disqualify him/her from awards, such as the Hall of Fame, etc, a person should not be prohibited from earning an award. Mere suspicion is not enough. With a PhD it should the same, plagiarism or cheating of some type would need to be proven in order for the degree not to be awarded based on unethical actions.
Russ:)
Hehe, since I am from Europe, this post is really funny, since "we" had one performance-enhancing drugs incident after the other in this year's Tour De France (biking event). All of them claimed innocent and later all suspects were proven not being so innocent at all.
Some did big interviews in the news papers, others vanished from the event with her whole team, others were at once banned from their team...
I have never been interested in that Tour before, but I was so interested this year, because every time I watched the news, the situation changed again...
;-)
Helen
Hey Russ,
I know it sounds a little contradicting to say that I'm trusting but then be quick to doubt before someone is judged guilty.
Some of it comes from the whole "where there's smoke, there's fire" idea.
Helen mentioned cycling in her comment. When you compare Bonds to Lance Armstrong, you'd think I would feel the same but, to me, it's a little different.
Armstrong passed literally hundreds of drug tests (both mid and off-season). And when he was taken to court he was able to prove more than once how it was the actually the testing lab that screwed up and not him. On top of that, Armstrong doesn't have any personal trainers serving jail time for refusing to testify and tell the truth whatever it may be.
I realize Armstrong has fallen under intense scruntiny, but there's doesn't seem to be near the amount of doubt as there is with Bonds.
Which makes me wonder . . .
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Hey Helen,
Ugh! This year's Tour ripped my heart out! They all signed public promises to avoid steriods and half of them got sent home for doping before the race was even over!
I couldn't believe German TV pulled coverage altogether - although I can't say that I blame them!
It's a really a shame, too! Cycling is a great sport and I enjoy it emmensely.
Thanks both for stopping by,
W
First of all, where were you Tuesday night? You got an invite to play poker at Davis' new place and watch said homerun.
Secondly, I agree with your comments; but one thing should be mentioned that prior to 1997, Barry was considered along with Griffey Jr to be one of the better all-around players in MLB. He was hitting home runs then, but definitely not at the pace he would later as HGH and other drugs became common-place for "cheaters".
To me the bottom-line is integrity, if you know you did something illegal or wrong, you should own up at least before God and maybe the rest of the world. I am sick and tired of people, especially politicians who claim the 5th amendnment or something like that. I am not naive or unrealistic, I believe in the real Truth and I believe in telling the truth, and no matter what some sports icon or president or actor does, if there is no truth there is nothing!
Thanks Wade.
Hey Mo,
I hate that I keep missing Poker Nights - I'll make one eventually.
I completely agree with your integrity comments and I think that is why Bonds has become so bitter - it's just eating him up inside!
We've all heard that the truth can set you free. This is one of those cases where it would set one free from all the guilt that is bottled up inside.
Thanks for stopping by,
W
I'm not a huge Barry Bonds fan, however
1. Records are meant to be broken. Good for him.
2. Nothing has been proven and he hasn't been caught. MLB knows there is a problem in general in their sport. They need to do something about it. I like the new stand that the NFL commish is taking. Also, look at Nascar. You rarely hear of them having a drug problem. Learn from those around you.
3. Maybe he is bitter because he is constantly being criticized and accused of something he may not have done.
4. The MLB commish is a total jerk.(that has nothing to do with Barry Bonds, it's just an observation.) :)
Hey Anon,
I love what the NFL is doing. I know people still call baseball America's pasttime but I think football has long since been the country's favorite sport.
And you're right, Bud Selig doesn't help his own case much. He always has a look on his face like he just got conned into buying ocean-front property in Oklahoma. Serves him right if he did!
Thanks for stopping by,
W
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