By now, it’s obvious that baseball turned a blind eye while dozens of its superstars grew big on steroids. While other sports have been hit hard, baseball seems to have taken the biggest hit from steroids. Home run heroes Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and others have had their reputations tarnished due to accusations of steroid use.

Many have been called out, but none more so than Bonds, arguably one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen. But it’s curious that out of all the players accused, Bonds has been in the limelight the longest for this and has been investigated the most.

Some have said the investigation has been brought on Bonds because he’s black. But being accused of steroid use has been widespread; Latin players, black players, and white players have all been accused. So while race could be a small factor in the bringing down of Bonds, it’s not the biggest one.

After all, Mo Vaughn, a black player and a former MVP, was named in the Mitchell Report. Gary Sheffield, a black player and nine-time All Star who’s admitted to steroid use, was named in the report, too. Baseball could have picked any of these players or others, so race doesn’t seem to tell the whole story here.

Instead, the Bonds investigation hinges more on other factors, including his changes in appearance and personality. Bonds was a lean, fit hitting machine in his days with the Pittsburgh Pirates and early days with the San Francisco Giants. Gradually, though, he bulked up both in muscle and head size, hitting for more power than before.

That would be enough to draw suspicions from baseball executives as circumstantial evidence.

Bonds doesn’t have a reputation as being a great teammate either. He’s been known to have a sketchy relationship with the media, and the attention he brings doesn’t always help improve morale in the clubhouse. 

Another factor, and probably the biggest one, is that in the time prior to his indictment, Bonds was baseball’s biggest star. As the newly crowned home run king, he drew the attention of the baseball world in both good and bad ways. The fact is that baseball executives didn’t act when they needed to, and they needed a poster boy for the Steroid Era.

What better person for that role than your single season and career home run leader? Maybe Bud Selig thought he could make up for years of mistakes and silence critics by singling out the sport’s biggest star.      

The Steroid Era has spared no one from accusations, no matter the race or position. So saying Bonds was sought out due to race isn’t a fair argument.

Look at what’s happened to Roger Clemens.

Before the release of the Mitchell Report, Clemens was seen as something of an iron man, coming back year after year, putting up consistent numbers. For Pete’s sake, he won a Cy Young award at age 42! He’s on equal footing with Bonds in terms of ability at his position, and was destined to be a Hall of Famer as one of the best pitchers in history.

Instead his name was the biggest mentioned in the report and he was called before Congress to defend himself. Even after repeated denials, there seem to be few who believe him and his passage to the Hall of Fame is in jeopardy.

Nowadays, it seems as though no one is safe from scrutiny. The days of fans being able to cheer their heroes without questioning their “cleanliness” seem to be dwindling as more accusations of steroid use arise.