Barry Bonds in 2007. Credit: Corbis
Baseball great Barry Bonds is currently on trial in San Francisco, where he's accused of taking illegal drugs. Bonds claims that he's innocent, and that his personal trainer tricked him into taking banned steroids, saying that they were flax seed oil and arthritis cream.
According to an ABC News report, "Bonds' attorney Allen Ruby acknowledged his client took two designer steroids, but said he did so unwittingly. 'I know that doesn't make a great story,' Ruby said, 'But that's what happened.'"
This is of course not the first time that a star athlete has allegedly been the victim of such a plot. In 1997, top tennis star Andre Agassi was found during routine urine sampling to have traces of crystal meth in his system.
Agassi flatly denied the charges, and said that he had unknowingly taken the drug in a rehydration mixture prepared by his personal assistant. Investigators concluded that this was plausible, and Agassi was cleared of the charges.
These are, of course, only a few notable cases. If high-profile athletes like Barry Bonds and Andre Agassi can be victims of such devious behavior, then it's not unreasonable to wonder if there's an epidemic of these cases across the country.
Are high school and college athletes being slipped illegal recreational and performance-enhancing drugs by their coaches and trainers? If Bonds is to be believed, this may be a valid concern, and hundreds of thousands of athletes may be taking all sorts of drugs without even knowing it.
Then again, in his 2009 autobiography Open, Agassi admitted that he'd lied all along, to the Association of Tennis Professionals, the press, and public. He had in fact intentionally used crystal methylene. He had not, after all, been the victim of a secret doping plan.
A federal prosecutor stated that Bonds' explanation was "ridiculous and unbelievable." Bonds is surely hoping the jury will see it differently.
Tags: Crime, Current Events, Health, Heroes, Myths and Legends
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