Lisa Doris Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604737516
- eISBN:
- 9781604737523
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604737516.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This chapter explores how Barry Bonds became one of the most hated athletes in baseball history. It traces the fans’ contempt for Bonds during his first years in baseball in 1985, as they got the ...
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This chapter explores how Barry Bonds became one of the most hated athletes in baseball history. It traces the fans’ contempt for Bonds during his first years in baseball in 1985, as they got the impression that he was cocky, noting that he rarely acknowledged his teammates and he was vocal about his talents. It explains that Bonds’ reputation plummeted when he became involved with the performance-enhancing drugs scandal that plagued Major League Baseball. It adds that his reputation did not recover even after beating the all-time record for having the most home runs in baseball in 2007, as his team, San Francisco Giants, did not renew his contract even after achieving such a feat.Less
This chapter explores how Barry Bonds became one of the most hated athletes in baseball history. It traces the fans’ contempt for Bonds during his first years in baseball in 1985, as they got the impression that he was cocky, noting that he rarely acknowledged his teammates and he was vocal about his talents. It explains that Bonds’ reputation plummeted when he became involved with the performance-enhancing drugs scandal that plagued Major League Baseball. It adds that his reputation did not recover even after beating the all-time record for having the most home runs in baseball in 2007, as his team, San Francisco Giants, did not renew his contract even after achieving such a feat.
Nathan Michael Corzine
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039799
- eISBN:
- 9780252097898
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039799.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This chapter examines the congressional hearings conducted on March 17, 2005, to probe drug use in Major League Baseball (MLB). On March 17, 2005, the Steroid Era crisis hit critical mass as a ...
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This chapter examines the congressional hearings conducted on March 17, 2005, to probe drug use in Major League Baseball (MLB). On March 17, 2005, the Steroid Era crisis hit critical mass as a handful of players sat before the House Government Reform Committee to answer questions about drug use in professional baseball, among them Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Curt Schilling, Jose Canseco, and Frank Thomas. Conspicuously absent was Barry Bonds, the man who had by then become the Steroid Era's public enemy number one. At the time, Bonds was the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO). The committee wanted to know if McGwire indeed used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, who else in the league used them, and when the use of such drugs began. This chapter considers what the hearings accomplished and the drug scandal involving BALCO.Less
This chapter examines the congressional hearings conducted on March 17, 2005, to probe drug use in Major League Baseball (MLB). On March 17, 2005, the Steroid Era crisis hit critical mass as a handful of players sat before the House Government Reform Committee to answer questions about drug use in professional baseball, among them Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Curt Schilling, Jose Canseco, and Frank Thomas. Conspicuously absent was Barry Bonds, the man who had by then become the Steroid Era's public enemy number one. At the time, Bonds was the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO). The committee wanted to know if McGwire indeed used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, who else in the league used them, and when the use of such drugs began. This chapter considers what the hearings accomplished and the drug scandal involving BALCO.
David C. Ogden and Joel Nathan Rosen (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604737516
- eISBN:
- 9781604737523
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604737516.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This book follows the paths of sports figures who were embraced by the general populace but who, through a variety of circumstances, real or imagined, found themselves falling out of favor. The ...
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This book follows the paths of sports figures who were embraced by the general populace but who, through a variety of circumstances, real or imagined, found themselves falling out of favor. The chapters focus on the roles played by athletes, the media, and fans in describing how once-esteemed popular figures find themselves scorned by the same public that at one time viewed them as heroic, laudable, or otherwise respectable. The book examines a wide range of sports and eras, and includes chapters on Barry Bonds, Kirby Puckett, Mike Tyson, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, Branch Rickey, Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Jim Brown, as well as an afterword and introduction.Less
This book follows the paths of sports figures who were embraced by the general populace but who, through a variety of circumstances, real or imagined, found themselves falling out of favor. The chapters focus on the roles played by athletes, the media, and fans in describing how once-esteemed popular figures find themselves scorned by the same public that at one time viewed them as heroic, laudable, or otherwise respectable. The book examines a wide range of sports and eras, and includes chapters on Barry Bonds, Kirby Puckett, Mike Tyson, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, Branch Rickey, Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Jim Brown, as well as an afterword and introduction.
Thabiti Lewis
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604737516
- eISBN:
- 9781604737523
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604737516.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This chapter examines race as a factor in the performance of a sports celebrity, using Mike Tyson as a focus. It contends that black athletes were often represented as villains in sport, as shown in ...
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This chapter examines race as a factor in the performance of a sports celebrity, using Mike Tyson as a focus. It contends that black athletes were often represented as villains in sport, as shown in the case of Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, and Barry Bonds. It shows that Tyson’s reputation originated in the aftermath of black athletes’ struggles in the 1960s and 1970s.Less
This chapter examines race as a factor in the performance of a sports celebrity, using Mike Tyson as a focus. It contends that black athletes were often represented as villains in sport, as shown in the case of Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, and Barry Bonds. It shows that Tyson’s reputation originated in the aftermath of black athletes’ struggles in the 1960s and 1970s.
