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Barry Bonds' felony conviction reversed, but you'll still hate him anyway
Barry Bonds, baseball's polarizing home run-king, has one less name for people to call him as of Wednesday. He's no longer a convicted felon.
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The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Bonds' 2011 conviction for obstruction of justice. It was the lesser of four counts Bonds faced in his perjury trial, which stemmed from a 2003 grand jury hearing in which the prosecutors believed Bonds gave an evasive answer to a question about PED use.
The lineage here is a bit complicated and confusing, but the upshot is Bonds was cleared. His trial, if you're curious, cost an estimated $6 million at the time.
From the Associated Press:
"Real-life witness examinations, unlike those in movies and on television, invariably are littered with non-responsive and irrelevant answers," Judge Alex Kozinski wrote.
Baseball's career home runs leader was indicted in 2007 for his testimony four years earlier before the grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. Dennis Riordan, Bonds' appellate lawyer, spoke with his client after the ruling.
"He said an enormous, enormous weight had been lifted from his body and soul," Riordan said.
Jessica Wolfram, one of the jurors who convicted Bonds, said she couldn't help but feel it was '"all a waste, all for nothing.'"
"Just a waste of money, having the whole trial and jury," she said.
Here is the statement Bonds issued Wednesday:
Today's news is something that I have long hoped for. I am humbled and truly thankful for the outcome as well as the opportunity our judicial system affords to all individuals to seek justice. I would like to thank my family, friends, and all of you who have supported me throughout my career and especially over the past several years. Your support has given me strength throughout this process and for that, I am beyond grateful. This has been a long and strenuous period in my life; I very much look forward to moving beyond it. I do so without ill will toward anyone. I am excited about what the future holds for me as I embark on the next chapter. Lastly and certainly not least, I would like to thank my legal team for their hard work and diligence on my behalf.
After the 2011 conviction, Bonds was sentenced to 30 days of home confinement (which he already served) and two years of probation, plus community service and a fine. Not the harshest penalty in the world, but for someone like Bonds, who is fighting to rehab his image and get in the Hall of Fame one day, you have to figure this isn't so much about evading penalty as it is clearing his name.
On that last part though, we're left to wonder what affect, if any, it will have. Raise your hand if you hated Barry Bonds because he was convicted felon. Probably not too many hands, huh?
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The people who hate Barry Bonds hated him before 2011. They hated him when he was chasing down Hank Aaron's home-run record. They hated him when the PED cloud lingered above. The court of public opinion tried, convicted and sentenced Bonds long ago. He's a liar, a cheater and a hollow home-run king to many fans. The conviction was just a little somethin'-somethin' on top.
People who take a hardline anti-Bonds stance won't just throw up their hands now and say, "Oh well, guess I was wrong. Love ya again, Barry." Nope, they'll just hate him for all the reasons.
A few people may soften their opinions on Bonds, since he's also been trying to make himself more likable by hanging around the San Francisco Giants again, getting active (and personal) on social media and even celebrating with fans on the streets of San Francisco after the World Series.
But the vast majority of people aren't changing their minds about Bonds after Wednesday's ruling. Maybe there's a Hall of Fame voter or two out there who doesn't want a "convicted felon" in Cooperstown (you know those voters and their beliefs), but most of the people who aren't voting for Bonds are more concerned about him being a "cheater."
So this, it's mostly for Bonds. For his pride and his own personal scoreboard. Maybe he'll smile real big knowing there's one less asterisk next to his name. It's just not the one that matters most.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
