Now it looks like Bonds has used the infamous “clear” and “cream” steroids, but (as he claims) he never knew what they were. There are three positions you can take on this:
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He knew, and he lied to the grand jury
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He didn’t know, never crossed his mind
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He didn’t want to know - either because it would implicate him, or, more nobly, because he’s not the type to question friends
I don’t purport to know the truth, obviously. However, it seems lots of people have been jumping onto position #1 immediately. #2 is out of the question, I think - Bonds is a smart man, and besides, he’s been constantly asked about this by the media. I’m just saying that #3 - that Bonds deliberately stayed uninformed - is not altogether implausible.
Imagine a scenario in which Greg Anderson, Bonds’ trainer, is the one who first gives the steroids to Bonds and really does say they’re supplements. (Say, Anderson sees his routines for Bonds aren’t really working or have hit a plateau, he wants to stay on as Bonds’ trainer.) So Bonds actually did start off believing he was being given just supplements. Midway through the programme Bonds very strongly suspects something is weird. Under such a scenario, it would still be in Bonds’ best interests not to pursue the questions further. If he’s not caught - fine and dandy. If he’s caught - he can tell the truth under oath:
Bonds said that as far as he knew, Anderson gave him only legal products to treat the arthritis and fatigue that afflicted him, especially when playing a day game after a night game.
Under this scenario, there’s plausible deniability. He’d even pass a lie detector test (well, if those things were accurate in the first place). So even if Bonds suspected that what he was receiving from Anderson was steroids, he’s smart enough to probably realise at the point that it wasn’t in his interest to probe any further into the matter. It would be a disingenuous and unethical kind of thing to do, but it would mean he wouldn’t be lying to a grand jury. And it would explain why Bonds would be willing to appear in ads for Balco and why Bonds wasn’t afraid of using the products in front of everyone:
“It was in the ballpark … in front of everybody. I mean, all the reporters, my teammates. I mean, they all saw it. I didn’t hide it.”
Of course, a more positive variation of #3 is that Bonds could also just be a really good friend to Anderson. Your friend gives you stuff and tells you it’s flaxseed oil or whatever, the stuff seems to work or doesn’t, you don’t question it. Heck, I’ve downed random Chinese medications from well-meaning people that purported to cure my coughs. Didn’t work, but Lord knows what it was I was drinking. Now, if I had any reason to believe it was a female fertility drug, that might give me pause…
I can see it now, Bonds on NBC… “The Less You Know”.
I guess under scenario #1, Bonds was the one who looked for enhancement and lied; under #2, Anderson’s the bad guy. Which leads to the eternal questions: who knew what, and when did they know it? And why are we learning all this through leaks to the press, instead of from a trial?