I think the pressure is getting to Barry Bonds.
He lashed out. He said the M-word.
Residue roid rage, perhaps?
From the Los Angeles Times:
Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, speaking to HBO's Bob Costas in a show that aired Tuesday, said the refusals of Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire to address steroids accusations are tantamount to admissions they used performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds' response? He lashed out at Costas.
"You mean that little midget man who absolutely knows jacks -- about baseball, who never played the game before?" Bonds said to a handful of reporters before Wednesday night's game. "You can tell Bob Costas what I called him."
Patrick Arnold, who created THG, the drug known as "the clear," told Costas he found it "pretty hard to believe" Bonds didn't know what he was taking.
"I've never seen the man in my entire life," Bonds said of Arnold on Wednesday. "I've never heard of the man ... never."
...Asked about Schilling's comments, Bonds was cryptic.
"Don't worry," he said, "my day will come."
"Midget" is an offensive term.
Those of small stature prefer to be called "Little People."
In fact, the M-word is considered as offensive as other epithets for minorities.
Read this letter to film critic Roger Ebert:
April 6, 2005
Dear Mr. Ebert,
I am an actor that you have reviewed neither favorably nor unfavorably in two different movies: one was “Death to Smoochy,” the other "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her.” I have absolutely no objection to you trashing a film or lauding it. I do object to the use of the word "midgets" in your review of “Death to Smoochy.”
As a writer you are aware of the power of words. The use of the word midget is, for Little People, equated with any other hate word someone might use to describe a minority group. I simply ask you: if you were to see Little People children would you take away their humanity in the same way with the use of such a hate word? I can respect a yes answer but I cannot respect the person who answers yes.
Sincerely,
Danny Woodburn
Do you recognize Woodburn?
Ebert responded:
April 12, 2005
Dear Mr. Woodburn,
I had no idea the word "midget" was considered offensive, and you are the only person who has ever written to me about it. In my mind it is a descriptive term, like "dwarf." "Little People" has seemed to me to have a vaguely condescending cuteness to it. If I am now informed that "midget" is offensive, I will no longer use it. What is your feeling about "dwarf?" Is "Little Person" always the preferred term? Our newspaper's style book, based on Associated Press, does not consider "midget" or "dwarf" to be offensive terms, but perhaps we have not caught up.
Sincerely,
Roger Ebert
Here's my point:
If Don Imus can get canned for saying "nappy-headed hos," certainly Commissioner Bud Selig should bench Bonds' immediately for his disgraceful use of the M-word.
In my view, this calls for a suspension.
After further investigation, maybe Bonds should be banned from baseball for life.
Yes, banned for life.
Hank Aaron's home run record would be safe.
If only all could be right with the world.
__________________________
Surprise, surprise.
Costas responds:
A day after Barry Bonds called him a "little midget man who knows (nothing) about baseball," broadcaster Bob Costas said he wasn't upset with the San Francisco Giants slugger and responded with a jab of his own.
"As anyone can plainly see, I'm 5-6 1/2 and a strapping 150, and unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally," Costas said Thursday in a telephone interview.
On this week's edition of HBO's "Costas Now," commissioner Bud Selig, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and chemist Patrick Arnold discussed Bonds, his pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record and suspicions that Bonds has used steroids. Schilling and Arnold said they believed Bonds had taken performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds viewed at least part of the show before Wednesday's game against Atlanta.
"I've actually always had a pretty cordial relationship with Barry," Costas said. "I have no ill feelings toward him personally. I regard him as one of the greatest players of all time who got an inauthentic boost and then became a superhuman player. I wish him no ill whatsoever."
...Told before Thursday's series finale that Costas claimed he came by his physique naturally, Bonds responded, "How do you know?" before going on to say he didn't care.
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