How did breaking sports rules become a federal offense?

[cboy4]

Putting Stars Behind Bars
How did breaking sports rules become a federal offense?

William L. Anderson and Candice E. Jackson | April 2009 Print Edition

All-time Major League Baseball (MLB) home run leader Barry Bonds was scheduled to begin trial in March on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, based on his grand jury testimony in a steroid distribution case that closed in 2005 after producing just four minor convictions that netted seven months prison time combined (half as long as Bonds’ personal trainer served behind bars for criminal contempt after refusing to testify about his boss). At press time, yet another federal grand jury was hearing testimony about whether former MLB pitching great Roger Clemens committed perjury when he denied using steroids after being hauled in front of Congress in February 2008.

Perhaps most bizarre of all was the attempt that same month by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to launch a federal probe of allegations that the New England Patriots videotaped the practices and defensive signals of opposing teams in 2006 and 2007. While cheating in professional sports is worthy of exposure and condemnation, even if all the accusations levied against Patriots Coach Bill Belichick were true, the worst thing he could have been guilty of was violating the rules of the National Football League, a private organization.

<snip>
The BALCO investigation, which has cost more than $55 million so far, :wtf: quickly moved from imposing mild punishments on four steroid dealers connected with BALCO to prosecuting star witnesses for perjury and obstruction of justice. The larger sentencing stakes of the latter indicate what the goal has been all along: to throw the expanded federal criminal law book at targeted athletes as a public shaming exercise.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/131973.html

[cboy4]

1. This is an OUTRAGEOUS abuse of the legal system

and a shameful waste of American tax dollars. :puke:

[MrCoffee]

2. Well, illegal steroid distribution and money laundering ARE federal offenses...

neither of which should be taken up by Congressional committee

[cboy4]

3. Barry Bonds is not accused of either. And if for argument

sake, one were to agree that Bonds did not tell the truth to the grand jury .. the point is he shouldn't have been before the grand jury to begin with.

It's appalling.

[MrCoffee]

5. Material witnesses shouldn't be called to testify before a grand jury?

You lost me there.

[cboy4]

8. Suuuure they only needed him to act as a material witness.

lol

They were trying to take him down.

He told them he did not knowingly take steroids and that should have been the end of it.

The federal judge who threw out all of the phony hearsay discovery says it all.

[Jack Rabbit]

27. You're right. He's accused of perjury before a federal grand jury

That's something you can make federal case from. Ask Scooter Libby.

[hughee99]

38. Besides, if we learned anything from the 90's

it's that it's okay for someone to lie, "be untruthful" or "mislead" a grand jury in sworn testimony as long as you don't think it's any of the government's business.

:hide:

[TZ]

4. Perjury is a felony.

Like it or not. Should always be prosecuted no matter what I think about the prosecutor bringing the charges. weather or not he's found guilty or innocent, he has to be tried for this.
The law has to be enforced. Whats next, we don't prosecute a sports star for assault in the middle of a season because its "inconvenient" for his team? I'm big on personal responsibility. All BB would have had to do was be honest to the Grand Jury and none of this would have happened. Don't give me that innocent victim crap. He did this to himself.

[cboy4]

6. That's pathetic you think wasting 55 million dollars on BALCO,

and millions more on other issues, including whether the Patriots cheated is worth the money.

And it's pathetic you think the government is justified getting involved in sports cheating issues.

This is bigger than Barry Bonds.

You're now on record for supporting big brother, which is a position ripped out of the right wing's play book.

[El Supremo]

10. Yes, it's bigger than Barry Bonds.

It concerns the health of countless future athletes.

Trumad is right. You really ARE a douchebag Condom-Boy!

[cboy4]

13. Spying on another team's plays concerns the health

of countless future athletes?

Cheating sports affects the health of countless future athletes? :crazy:

Nice right wing answer.

[madinmaryland]

23. What kind of bullshit are you talking about now?

You are not concerned about the examples set by the roid ragers?? There are young athletes dying by the examples you are referring to.

:wtf:

[NJmaverick]

7. If you can't do the time don't do the crime

Mr. Bonds should have come clean with his rampant steroid use.

[cboy4]

9. What crime?

He said he never knowingly took steroids.

The prosecution presented a bunch of phony hearsay evidence .. ridiculous information that the judge laughed at and threw out of court.

You have no proof of rampant steroid use.

[trumad]

11. That's where you and Bond's have a lot in common...

He say's he er never knowingly took steroids--- and you never knowingly know that you're a douche bag.

BTW: I love the way you start the thread and were the first to reply to it as well.

Too fucking funny.

[cboy4]

12. Yea, because I have such low self confidence that I was

worried nobody would respond the the thread. :eyes:

[NJmaverick]

35. You honestly don't think Bonds used steroids?

:wtf:

That would be like me, as a Giants fan, believing Plax didn't shoot himself in the leg.

[madinmaryland]

37. Well, Plax did not "knowingly" shoot himself in the leg.

Yes the :wtf:ery from cboy is really incredible.

[ProfessorGAC]

45. You Believe Him. I Don't

So, there's the standoff.
GAC

[Onceuponalife]

46. Yeah Barry didn't "knowingly" take steroids

he was just too stupid to know that stuff he was shooting into his ass was steroids.

[Upton]

47. That's what he says

and prosecutors are unable to prove he is lying. Therefore, Barry must be given the benefit of the doubt...

[WilliamPitt]

14. Because steroids are illegal inside and outside the ballpark.

Better question is why sports franchises think they have the authority to handle legal matters "in-house."

[Upton]

20. Bonds has said he never knowingly used

steroids....and since the prosecution can't prove he's lying, one must assume he's telling the truth.

[madinmaryland]

15. So I'm sure we are going to hear that tired old bullshit meme, cboy.

If you don't agree with me, then you are a racist, bigot and a barry-hater.

:wtf:

[trumad]

16. I'm shocked his other half hasn't appeared yet...

He must be on his meds today?

[Upton]

19. I'm right here

and I self medicate...what's your excuse?

[trumad]

29. Clock work

What---he wake you up?

[cboy4]

17. You didn't even read the article which is not surprising.

Had you read it, you would have learned that this is not specifically about Bonds.

It's about the issue of big brother getting involved in sports cheating allegations.

I can't believe people don't have a problem with wasting tax money on investigating issues surrounding a stupid game(s).

And if people don't make bigoted comments, of course I won't call them a bigot.

But if they do ....

[madinmaryland]

22. Since you believe it's a stupid game, then why do you post in the sports forum

about it. And why would you be concerned about a player in a stupid sport.

:wtf:

BTW, why are you such a uniphobe??

[Upton]

21. Racism is undeniably

a component of the overwhelming hatred for an innocent man...you'd have to be a fool to deny it. Each individual Bonds hater knows within themselves whether or not it plays a part in their irrational hatred.

[Upton]

18. I think the government should stay out of sports

If wimps like A-Fraud and Tejada want to admit to steroid use, fine...but the government has better things to do than using tax money to prosecute sports figures, this should be handled in house.

With Bonds, it's the bringing of frivolous charges against an innocent man, at the cost of millions, all to satisfy the blood thirsty Bonds haters.

Notice how they have quickly pounced upon your post cboy, in the kind of feeding frenzy which is indicative of those that harbor hate within their dark hearts.

[Forkboy]

24. Is that you, Stan Lee?

Notice how they have quickly pounced upon your post cboy, in the kind of feeding frenzy which is indicative of those that harbor hate within their dark hearts.

When does Galactus show up? :crazy:

[Onceuponalife]

26. typical of cbumpkin

to reduce issues to a comic book characterization. If you believe the obvious evidence of your own eyes and believe he's a 'roid ranger, you're a racist. Never mind that the same people on baroid's case also accuse Roger Clemens. I suppose you also think the O.J. trial was a racist conspiracy, eh crank boy?

So it's you and your twin against everybody else here and you think you're right? Well that's your delusion if you want it. If Barry had played his entire career in Pittsburgh you wouldn't give two shits about him. Because you're more loyal to a "geographic area" than you are the players, or their helath. Or the health of the millions of kids who look to these pukes as their role models. That's what's really pathetic.

:puke:

[cboy4]

32. Looks like someone else needs a big, fat roll of duct tape

wrapped around his mouth.

:puke:

[madinmaryland]

25. Dude! Maybe we are just tired of your overworn bullshit about an issue

that would have blown over here, except for two blowhards who keep trying to regenerate there own talking points.

As we learned during the Bush administration, if you keep saying something over and over and over and over, it becomes truth. You and cboy are proving this over and over and over.

Maybe it has come time for you two to STFU and move on.

[trumad]

28. "Notice how they have quickly pounced upon your post cboy"

You two need to seriously get a room although my suspicion is you already have.

[Upton]

30. How did you and your horse do this past weekend?

Lose any money? :rofl:

[cboy4]

31. I thought you'd put aside your homophobia, but just like an

addict, you can't help yourself.

[madinmaryland]

41. I thought you'd put aside your homophobia comments, but just like an

addict you just can't stop. You protestest too much, cboy, to make any of your "phobia" comments actually mean anything.

[MaineDem]

33. "perjury and obstruction of justice charges"

Bonds' charges have nothing to do with baseball or steroids. The same as Martha Stewart's conviction had nothing to do with insider trading. It's the lying that counts here.

[Upton]

34. What lying?

Has there been a conviction?

The prosecutors have turned tail and ran because they don't have the evidence to prove a charge of perjury. Until the day Bonds is convicted, he remains an innocent man.

[MaineDem]

36. The deliberate, willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath.

That lying. That's the charge, right?

[Onceuponalife]

42. Just like O.J.

[flvegan]

39. Total waste of time and money.

And the attempt at an "investigation" into the Patriots is just stupid.

Please, someone alert Congress to the fact that pro-wrestling is fake before they get twisted panties over that.

[madinmaryland]

40. Some of us are still pissed that Billichek may have won

three super bowls by cheating. Video taping all those games!

Congress being run by the repubs loved the WWE and their evening entertainment!

[Tektonik]

43. It's a complete waste of time and money.

I'd love if Barry is never found guilty of a crime, for all the crazed loons with pitchforks will be shown as the jackasses they really are.

[madinmaryland]

44. Dude! You are a feral offense to this entire forum.