The government may not call former baseball player Bobby Estalella to testify against homerun king Barry Bonds in his perjury trial. Estalella is the only baseball player on the government’s witness list with direct knowledge of Barry Bonds’ steroid use. Estalella was once identified as the “poster boy of the chemicals” in the “Mitchell Report” (officially known as the “Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball”).

The government’s apparent decision to scrap Estalella from the witness list is somewhat surprising as many observers felt that he could provide the “most damaging testimony” regarding Barry Bonds awareness of knowingly using anabolic steroids. Bonds has stated under oath that he never knowingly used anabolic steroids.

According to court documents, Estalella, unlike other baseball players testifying, was expected to testify that Bonds “admitted using performance-enhancing drugs and that had several discussions regarding that topic” with him. [Read more…]

Four current and former Major League Baseball players have testified that they received performance-enhancing drugs from Barry Bonds personal trainer. The government hopes that the baseball players’ testimony will help convince a jury that Barry Bonds lied to a 2003 grand jury when he told them he did not knowingly use anabolic steroids or human growth hormone (hGH).

Colorado Rockies Jason Giambi,  former San Francisco Giants Marvin Benard, former Oakland A’s players Jeremy Giambi and Randy Velarde testified that they received steroids and hGH from Greg Anderson, Bonds’ personal trainer. None of the four players testifying had direct knowledge of Bonds use of performance-enhancing drugs. The government hopes they can plant the idea of guilt by association in the mind of the jury. [Read more…]

As the first week of the Barry Bonds perjury trial comes to an end, increasing number of newspaper columnists have started criticizing the government for its witch-hunt of Bonds. The pursuit of Barry Bonds is not only a colossal waste of taxpayer funds but also fundamentally misguided in its pursuit of so-called justice.

Sally Jenkins, of the Washington Post, is one of the few journalists who has consistently been critical of the steroid hysteria that has permeated American culture over the past decade. She has been an outspoken critique of the government’s witch-hunt and its pursuit of celebrity athletes. Jenkins recently penned an article that not only condemned the prosecution of Barry Bonds but also the “overcriminalization” of steroid laws. [Read more…]