Does Barry Bonds Deserve Forgiveness?

Every so often, a celebrity or athlete falls into some legal trouble or is accused of doing something they shouldn't have. 

Mel Gibson really ruined his career. Just the other day, Batman star Christian Bale fell into his own trouble, but I'm sure the box office won't see the backlash of it.

Why is that?

About two weeks ago, UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had a little spat with the law. Apparently, he wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but he did do his best to evade the police. My initial reaction was concern for Rampage, as it appeared to be a health-related matter.

I wish him the best of luck because on camera, he seemed like a good guy. Maybe I'm wrong—he does fight for a living. But I forgave him.

Toronto Maple Leaf Mark Bell pleaded no contest to drunk driving and hit-and-run charges. He was given a six-month sentence by the courts. The NHL also gave him a 15-game suspension.

I haven't met too many people who have jumped to forgive him, myself included. Bell has even said he hasn't had a drink since. Many still haven't warmed up to him because of the type of crime he committed.

NHL All Star Dany Heatly pled guilty to four of six charges in a car crash that occurred when he was behind the wheel. His teammate, and friend, Dan Snyder was killed in the crash.

Heatly had a vehicular-homicide case against him and was sentenced to three years probation. In exchange for the guilty plea, the first-degree, vehicular-homicide charge was dropped, along with a charge of reckless driving.

Heatly was given an almost instant forgiveness by the Snyder family, a forgiveness that seems to have transformed into forgiveness across the hockey world, as no one ever really seems to talk about it.

O.J. Simpson made himself more famous than he already was, as a Hall of Fame football player, when he was charged with the murder of his wife and her friend.

We all know the story of how he beat the murder rap and how he recently went on to be charged with breaking into someone's hotel room to steal some sports memorabilia.  Mention his very name and it makes many of us laugh, as O.J. has become a sideshow, not someone we jump to forgive.

Pete Rose bet on baseball. We all know that. He has been banned from baseball and is the best player not in the Hall of Fame who should be. Baseball has not forgiven Rose.

However, many fans have. I have. Have you? Pete Rose made a mistake. He should not have bet on baseball. However, his "crime" did not really hurt anyone. Unless you believe that the stress he caused help propel then commissioner Bart Giamatti to his untimely death.

Many people forgave Pete Rose, and many, like myself will be there when and if he is ever voted into the Hall of Fame. Why? Because his mistake was just that, a mistake.

Recently, a lot of baseball players have been under accusation or investigation for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Names like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Raphael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, and far too many more have been in virtually every article written about steroids.

With a quick observation, it appears that those that come clean and confess are forgiven rather easily. 

Giambi was nearly thrown out of New York when news that he was a confirmed steroid user hit the news. However, once he went on TV and gave a lame apology, the people embraced him.

Why? He didn't come clean until everyone knew what he had done. What else could he do but apologize? He could have said it wasn't true, but it was his admission before the grand jury that the papers used to write their story.

McGwire went from the grand hero and savior of America's game to a guy who hides as best as he can under a rock.

Sosa was never proven to have been a cheat. Oops, I forgot the corked-bat incident for a moment. Do we forgive a guy who has not really been proven to be a performance-enhancing-drug cheat?

I say sure. Do we let him in the Hall of Fame? I think baseball has been good enough to him to allow that.

Roger Clemens is fighting for his life. With limited evidence that he is a cheat, it appears even one of the greatest pitchers of all time can be kicked to the corner if he is a suspect. 

The bigger you are, the harder you fall, they say.

Such is the case with Bonds. Nail him to the tree, light him on fire, and watch him burn. I honestly think there are those who feel that way. However, the more folks attack him, the more I feel for him.

Imagine being Barry for one day. Imagine being Barry at an opposing park for one day. No problem, eh? I couldn't handle it. Say what you want about him bringing it upon himself, because I believe he does as well, but enough's enough. 

I feel sorry that Barry has been the receiver of all the anger that baseball fans have over how the game's history has been destroyed over the last 10 years or so. The anger over how we feel deceived and cheated by people we called our favorite players.

Hmm...what is that saying, "Don't hate the player, hate the game?" Well, the steroid game was there before Barry, he just made a mistake and got sucked into it, and his personality won't let him see the mistake. 

Even though forgiveness has not been granted to Barry by many outside of the Bay Area, I forgive.

We don't really know the celebrities and athletes we see on TV. They might sign an autograph or shake our hands, but we don't know them. How easy it is for us to judge them and hate them for what they did. 

What do we really know about what they did, or why they did it, or who they really are? All we really know is that they are people, just like ourselves, who want to be seen, heard, and remembered. 

The only real difference is that they are.