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Cheating
Barry Bonds made home-run history. But did he--
like some other athletes--have an unfair advantage?

W
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aseball has a new home run king. San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds recently hit his historic 756th home run. That broke Hank Aaron's 33-year-old record. Bonds has now hit more homers over his career than anyone else in American baseball.

Many fans, however, are grumbling. Sportswriters and newscasters are too. They say that Bonds's great feat is suspect. They believe he used steroids—drugs that can give players added strength.

Bonds rejects those charges. "This record is not tainted. It's not tainted at all," he told reporters. Bonds may be in trouble, though. The U.S. government is investigating him. The 43-year-old outfielder could be charged with lying about his involvement with a company called BALCO. That company gave many players illegal strength-building drugs in the late 1990s.

What's caused all this controversy? Bonds has long been considered a great ballplayer. He was voted Most Valuable Player three times in the 1980s. But in the late 1990s, Bonds began to look different. He gained weight. His arms were bigger. And he started hitting many more homers. In 2001, he astonished fans by whacking a single-season-record 73 homers.

Then facts began coming out about steroids in baseball. Slugger Jose Canseco admitted that he had used steroids and claimed that many other baseball players had too. Two sportswriters said they had evidence that Bonds was a steroid user. U.S. Senator John McCain announced that baseball was "about to become a fraud" because of questions about its stars. In 2004, the sport finally started random testing of players for steroids. Since that time, Barry Bonds has taken a few of those tests. He has never tested positive for steroids.
Think About It!
  • CheatingDo you think Barry Bonds deserves to be called baseball's "home run king"? Why or why not?
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    Baseball wasn't the only sport hurt by drug cheating. In 2006, a steroid scandal hit the world's most famous bicycle race, the Tour de France. The winner, American Floyd Landis, tested positive for drug use. His title was taken away. During the 2007 Tour, many other racers tested positive for drugs. Athletes in the Olympics, football, basketball, and car racing have also been accused of using steroids.

    These scandals upset fans. It does seem like there's more cheating in sports now, admits Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra. "I guess it's because there's more sports today, more at stake, more money. … Some people want an advantage; they do what they do even if it's wrong."

    Barry Bonds is still hitting home runs. He slugged number 757 recently. However, questions about him, and other sports stars, continue. And many fans remain angry. That's understandable, says Yogi Berra. "Nobody likes a cheat. It's real hard to respect someone who doesn't play by the rules."
    Some people question whether Barry Bonds's home-run records are genuine. But do you know about other famous, less controversial sports records? Take this quick quiz and see!


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