Barry Bonds has denied intentionally using anabolic steroids when he played baseball. The federal government wants to prove he is lying about his steroid use and they are using millions of dollars of American taxpayer money to prove it.
Their star witness may very well be Kimberley Bell, the former mistress of Barry Bonds. Bonds attorneys feel that if Bell is allowed to talk about their client’s head size, testicular size, and his temper, then it is only fair to allow jurors to see her nude Playboy pictorial. Bell appeared in the November 2007 issue of Playboy.
The government doesn’t like this and wants Playboy barred from the courtroom.The nature of the testimony from the government’s star witness speaks volumes about the desperation of the government to convict Bonds. By introducing quasi-scientific testimony in attempt to convince jurors of his steroid use, the government guarantees a sensationalistic media circus.
Testicular atrophy is a well-known steroid side effect. However, observation of changes in testicular size by a third-party are highly subjective and not always obvious to observers according to Bonds’ attorneys.
“Statements that Mr. Bonds was disrespectful and abusive to others,” and the “statement that Mr. Bonds’ temperament changed or that on one occasion he threatened violence” were two descriptions of Bell’s testimony included in the court papers.
“Roid rage” on the other hand is not a scientific term but one that has been used widely in popular culture. The available scientific evidence does not consistently show that anabolic steroids cause aggression. When aggression is seen in anabolic steroid users, it is almost always precipitated by pre-existing personality traits and/or confounded by the use of other drugs such as alcohol. Bell is expected this testify about Bonds’ alleged “roid rage”.
“Statements that Mr. Bonds was disrespectful and abusive to others,” and the “statement that Mr. Bonds’ temperament changed or that on one occasion he threatened violence” were two descriptions of Bell’s testimony included in the court papers.
It remains to be seen if the judge allows and disallows during the evidentiary sparring between the prosecution and defense.
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