As in, there are two sides to every story. In this 2004 article, (originally published in Playboy) Jonathan Littman details the investigation into Barry Bonds and BALCO, and more importantly, how Jeff Novitsky, an IRS agent, decided that he wanted to get Bonds, because of his arrogance, because he was such an asshole. The article also details many of the inconsistencies in the investigation, including the government’s reluctance to indict or even investigate further countless professional athletes (mostly white athletes); while focusing all of their efforts on getting Bonds.
Today, Littman wants us to know that he stands by his original piece, and why:
I stick by my May 2004 Playboy story, Gunning for the Big Guy, which made no bones about what this was about from the beginning – nabbing Barry Bonds for steroid use and cheating at a professional sport. Bonds was always the focal point. Today these three cops stand firm. Forget about steroids. The case against Barry Bonds will likely be won or lost on the deeds, words and integrity of a lone federal agent.
Not a daring DEA drug agent.
Not a solid FBI man with dozens of major busts on his resume.
The protagonist here is the unlikely Jeff Novitzky, an IRS criminal investigator who for most of his career played a back-up role to veterans at other federal agencies.
The final chapter in BALCO will be less about drugs or Bonds’ testimony about what he may have ingested, but about whether one of the greatest black athletes in history was set up. For the last few years, the media has painted Novitzky a hero, the “dogged” investigator in the style of Eliot Ness. In the wake of the indictment they are singing his praises anew. But the prosecution may turn on whether Novitzky’s desire to topple Bonds led him to commit the classic rookie blunder—stepping on his fellow cops and the law. For no matter who was implicated in the case, Bonds was always the big fish.
Was this entrapment? As Novitzky relentlessly pursued Bonds, did baseball’s white players get a pass while the black star was dealt a bait and switch?
The media frenzy surrounding the Bonds indictment has missed a key fact. The federal prosecutor in San Francisco appears to have failed in his primary goal—to build an iron clad steroids case against the legendary player. Nor did the extreme measure of sending Bonds’ trainer to jail succeed in getting him to roll against his former employer. Anderson kept silent and, with the filing of the indictment, by law had to be released.
The government is playing the only card it has left, filing a perjury indictment largely based on circumstantial evidence dating from a four-year-old search of the BALCO labs.
This was not the original plan.
Misuse of power, misappropriation of millions of dollars, unfairly targeting one player while ignoring the misdeeds of countless others; you name it, it’s happening right in front of you while the mainstream media write article after article, editorial after editorial, all designed to let us know what an asshole Bonds is, what a great day it is that the government can spend all of this time and money to get a player who nobody likes.
It’s a disgrace, and it’s a terrifying look at what can happen when personal gain collides with government service.
UPDATE: The Starting Five has not one, but two articles that illuminate a third side of the issue, the one which shows how the owners and presidents and general managers and sportswriters have profited from the steroid scandal, and how they’ve been able to hide all of it by focusing on destroying Bonds:
…. The federal government NEVER focused on owners. They never focused on the power brokers who set the table for steroid use in the game as a means to enrich themselves. They never focused on the bottom line of this $6 billion industry. The federal government – and your media – focused on the players, black, white and Afro/Euro/Indio-Latin. Owners were not called to account for what was deemed to be the greatest transgression in the history of sports. And some day, players will understand that there is an enormous difference between player rich and owner rich. Owners are addressed as Mr. Angelos or Mr. Turner or Mr. Selig. Players are still children in a man’s world. They are addressed by their nicknames (”A-Rod”, “Rocket”, etc.) or their first names with all the derision and familiarity of a john slapping his favorite whore on the ass.
Chris Rock put it best: “Shaq is rich. The white man who signs his checks is wealthy. If Bill Gates woke up this morning with Oprah’s money, he’d jump outta the fuckin’ window!”
Hat tip to hal for the Starting Five link. 
[...] bookmarks tagged the presidents of the united states of america …. Two sides saved by 12 others jermainecalderon bookmarked on 01/24/08 | [...]
I guess it is not a race issue or a Bonds witch hunt now that Clemens and Pedit got outed too.
Kent
which game of baseball have you been watching over the years??
the one i watch has guys who juice up and scuff the ball when pitching, a home team that used to wet down the infield so their rivals couldnt steal on them, guys who got truckloads of hgh, a former home run king who most likely traveled with fistfulls of greenies, etc
this is about bonds being singled out from a crowd
the game has never been pure
so get your head out of your ass
Joe,
I see you lost his sarcasism meter too! Find it and re-read Kent’s post and then I think you will see you need to appologize.
Joe…I was being sarcastic. Maybe it didn’t come through clearly. Wow, we’re testy.
Hey, anyone Pay-per-View the England/Croatia game?
Good points John. I think that this forum has continued to question the collective wisdom of the Bonds case with vigor and research much beyond the huge numbers of gadflys out there throwing accusations at ‘im and seeing which’ll stick.
If you weren’t so stupid and such a Bonds apologist you’d clearly see that he’s guilty…of…well…cheating and stuff.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Thanks for the props fellas. Much appreciated. I’m not a writer for TSF – just a frequent poster when time permits. Thanks again. I see I’ll need to look around the site – you’ve been busy since 2002.
I seriously don’t even know why this is such a big deal anymore. Anybody with brain knows that they have no case on Bonds. This shit will get thrown out so fast.
all bonds attys need to do is gather up all the articles written on the subject, get novitzky and belle up on the stand….and…..case dismissed
multiple perjury charges mean not one alone is strong enuf to get a conviction
this case is gonna cost barry mucho bux and the rest of his career…but he will not be convicted
too bad it wont be enuf to exonerate him or have the public asking the right questions and attacking the right people
btw, one of the owners who turned his back on the roids prob is sitting in the white house right now….so do you really have to wonder why the investigation didnt include the owners??
this is the black sox scandal redux
back in the day, many players and coaches bet on and fixed games, because they were woefully underpaid and terribly mistreated by the rich owners
and comiskey was the worst of the bunch….but his misdeeds werent brought to the light of day till years later
reinstate shoeless joe….put barry in the hall….kill all the owners
As usual, DK Wilson one of the few to see or even care about the big picture.
http://www.chicagosportsreview.com/inthemeantime/contentview.asp?c=204267
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
John -
I hope you’ve been checking out The Starting Five on Bonds lately. They also link to two excellent pieces by one of their writers, Temple 3: http://temple3.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/united-states-of-america-vs-barry-lamar-bonds/ is pretty amazing, and today’s http://temple3.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/barry-bonds-the-guilt-paradigm/ strikes squarely at Selig and the owners. Combined with your take on Novitzky, it all adds up to a very nasty picture that leaves Bonds looking like the good guy.
Another point that’s rarely made is that amazing as Barry’s numbers have been, it’s even more staggering that he’s put them up while under nonstop assault and character assaination that would have crushed most people.
[...] TECH.BLORGE.com wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerptFebruary 2004 – January 2004 – December 2003 – November 2003 – October 2003 – September 2003 – August 2003 – July 2003 – June 2003 – May 2003 – April 2003 – March 2003 – February 2003 – January 2003 – December 2002 – November 2002 – October 2002 – September 2002 – August 2002 – July 2002 – June 2002 …. Two sides As in, there are two sides to every story. In this 2004 article, (originally published in Playboy) Jonathan Littman details the investigation into Bar [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptFebruary 2004 – January 2004 – December 2003 – November 2003 – October 2003 – September 2003 – August 2003 – July 2003 – June 2003 – May 2003 – April 2003 – March 2003 – February 2003 – January 2003 – December 2002 – November 2002 – October 2002 – September 2002 – August 2002 – July 2002 – June 2002 …. Two sides As in, there are two sides to every story. In this 2004 article, (originally published in Playboy) Jonathan Littman details the investigation into Bar [...]