Cheaters a product of our driven society

With baseball season now officially in full swing, Barry Bonds is again the focus of the national sports conversation. Much has been written about Bonds' alleged steroid use, and those who attack him usually take a holier-than-thou position. They talk about the purity of the game and bemoan the notion of Bonds joining such baseball gods as Ruth and Aaron. Baseball's past is made to look like a golden age, a time when the players played for the love of the game, not for money and fame. With tremendous self-righteousness, people in America — from fans to sports writers to congressmen — have been shaming Bonds and his pumped up colleagues: McGwire, Palmeiro, Canseco.

Bonds has not taken the Fifth in front of a committee like McGwire; he has not been caught red-needled like Palmeiro; he has not candidly admitted to cheating like Canseco. But in the eyes of the nation, he is guilty: "Look at his round face and bulging biceps; look how much he has changed," people say, and for most, that is evidence enough.

I have not read "Game of Shadows," which allegedly details Bonds' steroid history. But how can we be so quick to judge when Bonds is nothing more than a product of our culture?

There is a paradox in American life: We venerate those who reach the pinnacles of their professions, who display a single-mindedness, work ethic or natural talent that lead them to the top. But we are quick to shame them for this same single-mindedness of purpose, even when they have not yet been proven guilty.

Look, for instance, at the Enron guys: Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and Andy Fastow. There is strong evidence against them, certainly more than there is against Bonds. But are they not merely a product of our culture? They are all very smart men who displayed a single-mindedness in their profession that led them to the top. But they did not stop once they reached the top were driven to crime by money and ego.

Likewise, if Bonds does in fact use steroids, or has done so in the past, is he not just attempting to reach higher like most Americans? The rich in America often work harder than those with less to acquire greater wealth, and I see Bonds' chasing of Ruth and Aaron in the same light. The numbers 714 and 755 are hallowed numbers to baseball fans, but to Bonds, they are just numbers. In the same way Lay did not care for the welfare of his employees and their families, Bonds may not care for the history of baseball.

Those who do not have the single-mindedness or drive of a Lay, Bonds, Michael Jordan or a Lance Armstrong cannot comprehend the personality type. These are all people who have done or will do anything to win their respective games. There have been doping allegations against Armstrong; would anyone really be surprised if they were true?

I would not go so far as to say that Jordan would have cheated if it would have helped him win, but what mattered more to him, the greatest winner in sports history: winning itself or his love of basketball? Surely, he cared first and foremost about winning. Jordan must be ultra-competitive in everything he does, whether it be basketball, golf or ping pong.

Professional sports are as much about the fans as they are about the players. But there is a fundamental divide between the two: it is the fans and writers who talk about the beauty of the sports. We love football because of the hard hits and long passes and we love baseball for the home runs and diving outfield catches. But the best players — the ones who reach the pinnacle of their professions — are the ones who love winning more than the game.

Bonds wants to "win" the all-time home run derby, so he bulked up and began swinging for the fences. If he uses steroids, he is merely taking the will to win too far. But how can we shame men like Bonds who have not even been found guilty? How can we act as if they are deranged, evil people, when the main difference between "us" and "them" is that they have a greater single-mindedness? This single-mindedness garners our praise until they take it too far, and suddenly our praise turns to outrage. Why can't we admit that the alleged cheating of Bonds is a manifestation of our culture? For if he is a cheater, it is just that: our will to win taken to the extreme.