By Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Controversial San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds once boasted that he'd take great relish in passing the legendary one time king of swat Babe Ruth on the all time home run list, but had qualms about supplanting Hank Aaron as the all time home run king. Bonds was roundly denounced for playing the race card since Ruth is white and Aaron is black. There's great irony in that criticism. Bonds certainly won't suffer the fate of Aaron. Twenty-two years ago many fans, sportswriters and some players flipped the race card at Aaron. They gagged at the thought that a Black man could break the hallowed record of baseball's greatest white icon. Aaron received mountains of hate mail, vicious taunts, and threats to his family. He was surrounded by a squad of security guards at ballparks, and armed guards off the field. Aaron was gracious and dignified during the ordeal, and repeatedly praised Ruth's accomplishments.
Aaron, however, didn't flinch when it came to speaking his mind about discrimination in baseball. He chided baseball owners for the lack of opportunities for Blacks in coaching and front office spots. Since his retirement, Aaron still on occasion publicly lashes out at the lingering racial biases of some owners and front office managers. Bonds instead mostly complains about discrimination against him, and has roped some Blacks into doing the same.
That's glaringly apparent in the debate over his pursuit of Ruth's spot on the home run list. Many Black defenders resurrect the same racial scenario for Bonds as Aaron. They see white fans and sportswriters doing everything they can to stop another black man from passing Ruth.
But when Bonds sprints past Ruth, the talk won't be that a Black man had the temerity to pass a mythical white hero, but that the Black man that did it cheated to accomplish that feat. The cheating that Bonds is alleged to have done is the well worked over accusation that he stuffed himself and lathered on his skin a storehouse of drugs and steroids. The charge at this point is still just that, a charge. In the past three years, Bonds has tested clean, the investigation by baseball commissioner Bud Selig is ongoing, and no criminal charges have been filed against him. Bonds chalks the accusations up to envy and racism. Bonds is right and wrong. There are probably a slew of fans and sportswriters that hate the idea of a big, rich, famous, surly, blunt talking Black superstar who routinely thumbs his nose at the media getting such prominent play.
It's no stretch to see a double standard in the hits against Bonds. Outspoken Blacks, especially Black superstars, and especially those that engage in bad boy behavior are often slammed harder than white superstars that are outspoken and engage in bad behavior.

But Bonds also has gotten much backing from Black and white players, and many sportswriters, and fans. They laud his accomplishments, and despite being dogged by the doping allegations, think that he's been more of an asset than a liability in a sport that has lagged at the gate, and needs any draw, even a controversial one, that it can get.
Bonds is not innocent when it come to his image and attitude. All high profile public figures and celebrities are under an intense public microscope. If they screw up, shoot off their mouths, thumb their noses at the world, or take a holier than thou attitude, they'll take big hits. Bonds has taken the hits. The taunts and catcalls at the ballparks, and the hate mail that he gets are relentless. But much of that hate mail, unlike the hate mail that Aaron got, has less to do with bumping Ruth from his home run perch, than the belief that Bonds has tainted the sport. And even then nearly half the fans in a recent USA Today/CNN poll said his records should not be taken away if he's found guilty of taking steroids.
The ultimate irony is that if Bonds somehow manages to stave off more injuries and father time and to threaten Aaron's record, the fans and sportswriters will turn the heat up even higher. The blame for that won't be on race, or even Bonds alleged drug use, although that will be the focal point for the public shots at him, it will be Bond's image and attitude. The rap will be that a guy with a lousy image and bad attitude is not worthy to wear the mantle of king of swat.
That's nonsensical. Baseball is a sport where some of its top stars, even legends, have acted boorish, insolent, arrogant, and committed bad, even criminal acts. The best example of that is Ruth. He was a notorious carouser, got into fights, was a moneygrubber, tried to punch an umpire, and was suspended for nine games. But in sport image is everything, and Bonds is as much a victim of his image as Aaron was of his color. And that's the difference between Bonds and Aaron.

Editor’s note: Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a columnist for BlackNews.com, an author and political analyst.