(Ed. Note: We received so many thoughtful and well-reasoned responses to our article on media coverage of Barry Bonds that we have included some below rather than in the letters section. The first letter below caused us to revise our story at 8:30am yesterday to make clear that Bonds violated MLB rules by taking steroids without a prescription and without notifying the Giants. This change does not alter our thesis, since Bonds’ compliance with this rule would still have enabled him to use the performance enhancers that the media and public are complaining about)
Dear Editor:
You wrote: “The critical fact regarding the controversy—that Major League Baseball had no ban on steroids during the relevant period—has receded into the background . . .” You further wrote: “Barry Bonds broke no MLB rule by taking steroids. He very well may have committed perjury in his grand jury testimony, and may have violated federal law by not getting a prescription, but he did not violate a MLB rule.” These statements, I am afraid, are incorrect.
While it is true that Major League Baseball did not institute a drug testing policy until after the 2002 reason, MLB did have a policy against the use of anabolic steroids as early as 1991. That policy provided that the “possession, sale or use of any illegal drug or controlled substance by Major League players and personnel is strictly prohibited,” and that “[t]his prohibition applies to all illegal drugs and controlled substances, including steroids or prescription drugs for which the individual in possession of the drug does not have a prescription.” The policy continued that “Major League players or personnel involved in the possession, sale or use of any illegal drug or controlled substance are subject to discipline by the Commissioner and risk permanent expulsion from the game.” See Memorandum from the Office of the Commissioner to All Major League Clubs Re: “Baseball’s Drug Policy and Prevention Program” (June 7, 1991).
For further information, I direct your attention to an article entitled “The Memos: A Ban Ignored” by Tom Farrey, that ran, I believe, in the December 22, 2005 edition of “ESPN the Magazine.” The online version of that story provides a link to scans of the 1991 MLB policy in question.
David Harlow
(In response to the above letter, BC editor and story author Randy Shaw responded “thanks for the feedback. I understand your point, but do you think people would not care about Bonds use of steroids if he had a prescription”?) Harlow then responded:
In the first place, it’s hardly clear that, the way that MLB’s 1991-era drug policy was written, the use of anabolic steroids, even with a prescription, would have been permitted. Moreover, the 1991 MLB policy further provided that “[d]uring spring training, the championship season, League Championships or the World Series, any player who is taking any prescription drug under the direction of any physician other than the team physician must notify the team physician of this fact and of the drug(s) prescribed.” Thus, even if Bonds had found himself a willing doctor (i.e., in the mold of Dr. James Shortt, who last year was accused of writing prescriptions for various performance enhancing substances, including anabolic steroids and testosterone cream, for certain Carolina Panther football players), Bonds would have been obliged by the league’s policy to have notified the Giants.
As for your question, I’m afraid I don’t understand it. I have no possible way of knowing what other people would think with respect to a hypothetical situation where Bonds had obtained a prescription for the steroids he allegedly took. The point is, your statement that Bonds “broke no MLB rule by taking steroids” is simply false. Further, if the allegations leveled against him are true, his use of the female fertility drug Clomid (for which he obviously did not have, and could not have legitimately obtained, a “prescription”) and of the anabolic steroid tetrahydragestrinone (the so-called “clear,” for which he could not have possibly obtained a prescription, as THG was surreptitiously manufactured for the purpose of evading drug tests, and thus was unknown to the legitimate medical community) were in violation of MLB policy.
As for the distinction between Bonds’ situation and McGwire’s, the technical distinction, as I understand it, is that the substance found in McGwire’s locker, androstenedione, is a testosterone precursor and was, at that time, available over-the-counter. While “performance enhancing,” it is not, technically, an anabolic steroid and, thus, would not have been covered by the 1991 policy (although its use today is prohibited by MLB’s current policy). In any event, I do not for one minute believe that “andro” was the only performance-enhancing drug McGwire was taking. Indeed, it’s more than likely that McGwire wasn’t taking andro at all, but, rather, was using anabolic steroids. The andro was just a cover story, to explain away his changed physique and improved output at the plate.
Here’s a letter from the Northwest:
Dear Randy,
Well everyone is entitled to their opinions and you certainly are not excluded from “everyone.” While I believe in my opinion there are many reasons as to why everyone is jumping on the “Barry Bashing Party” he is still a major league ball player who has asked for in so many ways to have this target placed on his forehead (It’s big enough) from the beginning of his career. He enjoys the attention, not that he enjoys the media but he does relish the attention and even though this may be bad news, it is still news nonetheless and he is right smack dab in the middle of it. Now, I am not some “Old Timer” that has been watching or playing baseball since 1950 as I was born in 67 and outside of playing in little league for a couple of years when I was a kid, I never did like watching baseball up until I went to my very first professional ball Game @ the Kingdome on April 22 1993. Maybe you can tell me why I fell in love with baseball that day. Now maybe I am not some “Old Timer” but I am not a “Spring Chicken” either and have seen quite a bit of the good and unfortunately the bad as well. With that said, I have had no reason to dislike Barry up until the time I went to Spring Training in 96 after the Mariners exciting playoff run. With my 2 year old in hand we walked up to Barry away from all the media, all his team mates and for that matter, NO ONE as he was walking through the lobby of the hotel where we had camped waiting for an opportunity to meet who at the time could be “Baseball’s ALL Time Homerun Leader” and ask for an autograph. People had warned me about his attitude and I simply did not believe a professional who loves the game would treat anyone rudely. WOW, was I wrong. “Look I aint got time for signing no autographs, go buy a baseball like everyone else” and kept on walking right through me and my son like we were nobody. Maybe we are nobody but then again he went from being someone great to the dogshit stuck on the bottom of my shoe that I keep trying to wipe off in the grass but it just sticks around and keeps smelling, well like SHIT. So, in my humble opinion, he deserves what he gets and this IS NOT a RACE issue. It is an issue about someone who has lied. End of story.
I have enjoyed your article and hope to read more of your articles in the near future. Add me to your list fans as I am in Washington State
Chris Champoux Kirkland, Washington
For a contrary view:
Dear editor:
Your article was great regarding Bonds. This is a witch hunt to destroy him. When Sammy Sosa was caught with the corked bat the story only lasted one week. It will be interesting to see what proof those Chronicle writers offer in their book. Why doesn’t anyone focus on the pictures and other players who are or have used these drugs? Nothing against Willy Mays or Hank Aaron; but those guys didn’t have pictures throwing split finger fastballs that drop two feet traveling ninety-seven miles per hour. I think they’ve all done it at one time or another. If a study were done it would show that the average weight and strength of football and baseball players has increased much more that that of societies. They are all on various forms of performance enhancers but we only hear about Bonds.
Sean Keighran
