[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 9540-9541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     WELL WISHES TO BARRY BONDS IN HIS BID FOR THE HOME RUN RECORD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 24, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of one of 
baseball's most successful stars, Barry L. Bonds. An all-star 
outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, Bonds has had a stellar 
career. Since entering the major league in 1986, Bonds has created 
quite a name for himself.
  As a young man growing up in California during the 60s, Bonds 
discovered his talent for sports. Not only did Bonds play baseball, but 
he played football as well. With a former all-star player as a father, 
Bobby Bonds, Barry was destined for athletic greatness.
  Considered as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Bonds 
has both created records and broken them alike. Bonds has won 8 Gold 
Glove Awards for his defensive might in left field, and he is a 13 time 
All-Star. He is the only player in baseball history to have hit at 
least 500 home runs and stolen at least 500 bases, no other player has 
reached even 400-400. This is all a mark of Bonds' true athletic 
dominance,
  He is now only trailing the great Hank Aaron's 755 home run record, 
while currently tied with Babe Ruth's 714. Even though Bonds' record 
has been questioned due to alleged steroid use, it seems to not have 
affected such a trailblazer.
  I want to wish Barry Bonds all the best in his pursuit of the home 
run record, for it is only in arms reach. He needs to know that he 
should keep pushing on and playing the game that he loves so much and 
the game we love to watch him play.
  We must be careful to not let the racial prejudice and bias of others 
take away from the phenomenal achievements of such a remarkable 
athlete. Bonds has achieved all his accomplishments because of his work 
ethic and extraordinary performance. Please let us acknowledge the good 
that Bonds has done and to not let the bad overshadow the good. None of 
us are saints in this world, but we do our best to put the best foot 
forward.
  Please allow me to enter into the Record this song of praise for one 
of the best athletes this generation has ever seen. Bonds has forever 
solidified his name and place in the history books and he belongs 
there. He belongs there for not only his love of the game, but for the 
fact that his commitment is unmatched by so many.

          [From the Witness for Justice No. 268, May 15, 2006]

                              Race Matters

                       (By Wallace Ryan Kuroiwa)

       Okay, I'll admit it: I am a San Francisco Giants baseball 
     fan. Always have been, always will be. Maybe it's because 
     living in Hawaii, I used to get the Giants games on the 
     radio. Or maybe it's because in my first year of seminary in 
     the Bay Area, I watched Juan Marichal pitch and the two 
     Willies, Mays and McCovey, homer--my first live Major League 
     game! So I will admit to a bias in my following rumination.
       I have watched with some dismay as slugger Barry Bonds has 
     been vilified in the media and by fans as he nears the home 
     run milestone of 714 home runs, the record the immortal Babe 
     Ruth held until Hank Aaron eclipsed it. Most of the 
     discussion has centered on the purported use of steroids by 
     Bonds. Although there has not been any substantiation of 
     steroid use in the legal arena, Bonds has been tried and 
     convicted in the media. Television commentary will show 
     pictures of Bonds as a younger player and then pictures of 
     him in his present manifestation, and then conclude: now who 
     can say he hasn't used steroids? Huh? What would happen if we 
     put pictures of all of us in our twenties and then put them 
     side-by-side with our pictures in our forties and jump to the 
     same conclusion?
       I believe Minnesota Twins outfielder Tori Hunter hit on a 
     reality when he observed: ``They can say what they want, but 
     there's no way they would launch an investigation if Barry 
     Bonds was not about to break Babe Ruth's record. It is so 
     obvious what's going on. He has never failed a drug test and 
     said he never took steroids, but everybody keeps trying to 
     disgrace him. How come nobody even talks about Mark McGwire 
     anymore? Or (Rafael) Palmeiro (who tested positive for 
     steroids in 2005?) Whenever I go home I hear people say all 
     of the time, `Baseball just doesn't like black people. Here's 
     the greatest hitter in the game, and they're scrutinizing him 
     like crazy.' It's killing me because it's about race.''
       It may not be all about race, but race certainly is a rain 
     cloud over the whole issue. Race has been a specter over 
     sports for as long as I have been alive, and much longer. 
     Remember Jesse Owens in Germany? Jack Johnson? Jackie 
     Robinson? Even Hank Aaron received death threats as he 
     approached the beloved Babe's record.
       Those who would claim that sports is a level playing field, 
     that anyone with talent can make it in sports, need to take 
     their heads out of the sand. Race matters, as Cornel West 
     simply put it.
       Globally speaking, sports serves as a microcosm of American 
     society. The insidious reach of racism is always near the 
     surface of the dynamics of human interaction, if it is not 
     overtly present. Whether it is in the New Orleans debacle, or 
     the immigration debate, economic globalization, or whatever, 
     you don't have to look far to find race lurking. We will 
     never make progress toward a more just society until we own 
     up to that, and move forward.
       So my defense of Barry is more than just about being a 
     Giants fan, much more. It's about needing to name the sin. 
     When we do that, we can start to do better. And we do need to 
     do better as a society, much better.
       The United Church of Christ has more than 5,700 churches 
     throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, Rooted in the 
     Christian traditions of congregational governance and 
     covenantal relationships, each UCC setting speaks only for 
     itself and not on behalf of every UCC congregation. UCC 
     members and churches are free to differ on important social 
     issues, even as the UCC remains principally committed to 
     unity in the midst of our diversity.

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