Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi both took steroids, but only one has been indicted by the federal government. Bonds is black and Giambi is white. Fortunately, Ms. Hill did not spend much time on that issue in her latest column defending Bonds. She did mention it as an afterthought, but certainly not as prominently her colleague Scoop Jackson has in the past. However, her defense of Bonds was also completely devoid of any form of logic.

Hill seems to have forgotten why Bonds has been indicted. Her column focuses mostly on how she and others dislike Bonds for being undignified:

I have been as critical as anyone of Bonds. I didn’t want to see him break Hank Aaron’s record, because he’s not as dignified as Aaron was and Bonds didn’t respect his natural ability the same way Aaron respected his.

But that doesn’t mean Bonds belongs in prison.

Yes, it is true that being a jerk and taking steroids are not crimes that will result in jail time, and that’s precisely why Bonds is not at risk of receiving jail time for taking steroids.

He’s on trial for lying to a federal grand jury. Giambi was in front of that same grand jury, and he is facing no punishment because he did not lie.

All Bonds needed to do was admit that he knowingly received steroids from Greg Anderson and he would have been off the hook. Instead he’s looking at a up to five years in jail if convicted of one count of purjury. (He’s charged with four, but he will probably not be found guilty on all four.)

What did Bonds have to lose by admitting to taking steroids? His legacy? Everyone thinks he took steroids, anyway.

His freedom? Using anabolic steroids to build muscle is technically a crime, but Bonds and the others testifying were granted immunity for anything they said.

Further, the transcript of the case was classified, so, even having admitted to steroid use, no one would have known about it had the two San Francisco Chronicle reporters not had it given to them illegally and published portions of it illegally.

But, now, his life, his freedom, his faint hopes of a Hall of Fame induction, all rest in ballace. (That last one doesn’t matter, because Bonds said he is going to boycott his induction.)

But Jemele Hill thinks it’s “a gross and terrible injustice.”

Kind of like taking steroids or lying to a grand jury.

Hill mentions that the feds didn’t need Bonds to get to BALCO. Indeed, BALCO’s president Victor Conte spent four months in jail without the help of Bonds’ testimony. However, Conte’s prison sentence could have been longer had there been a more solid case against him. Conte’s original suggested sentence was eight months as part of a plea deal. Unfortunately, steroid sentencing laws were weak when he committed most of his crimes.

Regardless, if Bonds were to get away with his blatant lies, that would set a standard that lying to the feds isn’t going to result in punishment.

I just hope for Hill’s sake that she doesn’t ever get called to testify in the case of ESPN vs. Media Credibility.

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