For a while now I've been quietly fraught with internal turmoil about Barry Bonds. Yes, I think he's guilty of using illegal performance-enhancing substances. (Lord knows head growth is not common in a man his age.) At the same time, I've seen plenty of guys with big arms who probably couldn't hit 755+ home runs in the majors. There's undeniable skill at work that steroids played no part of.
Then last week everything crystallized. Team Robobank pulled their own competitor, who was leading and likely to win the Tour de France. He was not kicked off for testing positive for doping, but for "unexplained absences" and missing two drug tests. His suspicious behavior was enough that he was no longer eligible to win. This of course came shortly after another player, Alexandre Vinokourov, was kicked off the Tour for actually failing his blood test.
In the Tour de France, a team is willing to send its own lead player home for impropriety, sacrificing victory for honor. But in America we don't even regularly test our players for drug use. The need for the Tour to be won legitimately is paramount, above the desire to break records. Lance Armstrong, when repeatedly accused of doping to reach his record-setting 7 straight titles, once described himself as the world's most tested athlete.
We may not have hard proof that Barry Bonds cheated, but his inevitable record is already tainted beyond repair. Yankee-haters are united in the hope that A-Rod can get there soon and we can forget about this unfortunate moment in Baseball. But sadly, the tarnish here is not simply on Bonds or his record. It is on the failure of leadership throughout Baseball.
From the Commissioner to the owners and managers of each team, no leader has taken the steps to ensure that their players are beyond reproach. Fearful of speaking out against the sport's "look the other way" culture, worried that fewer home runs would lead to diminished attendance, none will take the stand to ensure that the sport itself maintains a clean reputation.
Baseball can learn a lesson from the Tour de France. While home run record races may have enthused audiences in recent years, the long-term damage to the reputation of the sport is a greater threat to ticket sales than a lack of long balls.
I for one will not be celebrating when Barry Bonds hits his 755th and 756th home runs. I will be waiting, not for A-Rod, but for a season of accountability, when honesty is as important as ratings. That's the American Pastime I can be proud of.