Barry Bonds' Legacy Wilts Away and Prosecution Takes a Hard Hit from Arthur Ting

Barry Bonds is among many athletes in the history of any league who have taken advantage of the physical supremacy performance-enhancing drugs produce, some of whom made themselves known during Barry Bonds' trial most recently.

Names like Jason Giambi and Marvin Benard were tossed around the courtroom as Bonds was forced to watch his fellow league mates testify that they had also received steroids from his former trainer, Greg Anderson, resulting in a solid case for the prosecution.

These developments—added to the fact that the ex-San Francisco Giant’s former trainer testified that he has gained a noticeable amount of muscle mass during the time that he is being accused of participating in drug use—are seemingly hard-hitting against a man who, without all of the controversy, may have been considered one of the greatest to ever play baseball.

Thursday may have been the most dramatic and tide-turning event of all as an orthopedic surgeon named Arthur Ting was called upon by the prosecution and did more damage than good to their case. It was a shocker to many that the prosecutor brought Ting in as a witness, because it seemed as if he and the defense spent more time together rehearsing Q&A.

As privacy becomes of lesser value in America, it is astonishing how documents are kept hidden from the likes of the government—especially documents that could potentially make or break such a publicly-tried case.

Barry Bonds still has the admiration of many in the African-American community, but the baseball world as a whole is distancing itself from the controversy instead of showing support for a fellow major leaguer.

His image will forever be tarnished as a result of these proceedings, whether he is found guilty or innocent. Bonds’ legacy has blemishes that can never be corrected. The implications of illegal acts or wrongdoing can do so much to a career that far overshadows the truth of the situation.