If only Barry Bonds had done it differently.If only he would have been more civil, less rude. More of a human being, less of a churlish bully.
Maybe then we’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Compassion instead of contempt.
Barry Bonds believes people are out to get him on this steroids scandal, and he’s absolutely right. We hate Barry Bonds for one legitimate reason: Because he hated us first – all of us. For years, he has shown fans, media and even some of his own teammates nothing but disdain.
In a recent interview, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated told the story of a conversation he once had with Gary Sheffield, who spent a winter a few years ago living with Bonds. Sheffield saw the classless way Bonds treated people and warned him of the consequences.
Remembered Verducci: “Sheffield said he told Bonds to his face, `Because you treat people so badly, they’re going to go out of their way to bring you down.’ It turns out Sheffield was right. It’s human nature. If you’re not a likable guy and you tick enough people off, somebody’s going to try to hand you your own justice.”
Some social commentators hypothesize that Bonds is being publicly castigated because he is a black man. This is laughable. This isn’t a race issue; it’s a grace issue. Bonds has been a graceless jerk for so long that the vast majority of the American public is now shamelessly rooting for him to finally get his comeuppance.
Don’t apologize for hoping Bonds gets kicked out of baseball. Don’t feel guilty for wanting him left out of the Hall of Fame. He only has himself to blame. Franklin Roosevelt once said, “You treat people right, they will treat you right.” Translation: You get what you earn. There are dividends for decency; retribution for rudeness.
It amazes me how some athletes make a conscious choice to be crass and classless. And, believe me, it is a conscious choice. Nobody can be as bitter as Bonds without actually making a concerted effort.
The closest thing to Bonds in Central Florida is Apopka’s Warren Sapp, the former Tampa Bay Bucs defensive tackle now playing for Oakland. Sapp could have been one of the most beloved players in NFL history. There is a side of him that is engaging, eloquent, funny. But too often, he has chosen to be angry, ill-tempered, disrespectful.
And now, as he nears the end of his career, Sapp may not get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Not because of how he played, but because of how he acted. The man who may someday have to present Sapp’s case to the Hall of Fame Selection Committee _ Tampa Tribune sports writer Ira Kaufman _ admits Sapp will be a “hard sell” because he is not only a borderline candidate; he’s a boorish candidate.
Says Kaufman, whom Sapp quit talking to four years ago: “I’ve already got my opening line to the committee. It’ll be something like, `Gentlemen, nobody in this room has less of a reason to vote for Sapp than I do, but let’s keep it on the field. This is about performance, not personality.”’
Adds Kaufman: “I believe Sapp has some powerful credentials in terms of dominating his position, but many think he’s a bubble candidate. It’s going to be a challenge for him to get into the Hall because of his frosty relationship with some of the voters in that room.