why do a lot of people hate Barry Bonds?

Answer 1

Because he's cheated. Simple as that. he's undermined the game by being associated with BALCO and will defile the sport when he takes Hank Aaron's all-time record for major league home runs. Added to which he has contempt for his teamates and the fans. The commisioner knows this, that's why he still hasn't committed to attending the games when Bonds is likely to break the record. If the commisioner is in attendance it gives respectibility to Bonds' transgressions.

Answer 2

Jealousy because he makes millions of dollars a year and the media brainwashes the people in to believing lies about Barry Bonds.

I asked baseball fans from other parts of the country during the All Star Fanfest here in SF, and they told me the same thing. They appreciate Barry, think that he "used", but understand that he took drugs that were not illegal or banned at the time, so it's his body, not theirs..... They did not "hate" him because that was childish.....

He cannot be considered a cheater. When the allegations of steroid use came out, it was well after his alleged use occurred. If he did, it was when steroids were not banned or considered illegal. If he is using now, that's illegal and he's guilty, but he's testing clean.

I think that this issue is just a horse that was beaten way too much by children and the media. The younger generation and uneducated people only believe what MTV and the media tells them and common sense does not apply to kids and the retarded nowadays. It's just like hearing a false rumor at school and then abusing that person by sticking your tongue out, laughing at them and calling them names.

Look at Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmiero and Jose Canseco, for instance. Nobody is crucifying them although they are in the same boat as Barry Bonds. Why is Barry being singled out if those players and others did the same thing? Not giving interviews and brushing reporters away is a weak reason to abuse Barry Bonds, nor can the lies about his "attitude problems" be proven.

He's an extremely nice and caring person, from my experience of meeting him and seeing him once every two weeks at work when he visited a co-worker of mine. He cares about children, elderly, corporate types, common blue collar workers and everyone in between!

I think people should just read between the lines, forget about the asterisks because what he did was not illegal at the time and that steroids will not help anyone hit HR's.

Answer 3

Hatred has always been popular, historically, although it's usually only good as a short-term project.

But, unless one is in certain areas of politics or religion, hatred has become much less socially acceptable. Hatred is good for some businesses, but overall bad for most. Only the most fanatical about their hatreds are willing to suffer at the cash register just to freely express the preferred pettiness within their sick, twisted souls. (Consider how popular hoods were with that well-known Southern "heritage society". Hating anonymously has also been popular.) Sales of torches and pitchforks have been flatline for decades.

But anyone is permitted to express their hatreds in the world of sports fandom. It's practically built-in: the word "fan" comes from "fanatic" so the original incentive is there; sports are confrontationally competitive by design; it's MEANT to be a non-lethal form of warfare, for which people will pay (lots) to watch.

And here's Bonds, never the underdog, ready-made with an unpopular skin color, painted by the media as haughty and arrogant and surly, known to have used edgy (but then permitted) drugs and medicines for an indeterminate time (and to unknown results), and standing on the very cusp of yet another record-breaking performance (one of several in his record-breaking career) in which, for no particular reason, far too much fan emotion has been vested.

Those so inclined are free -- more; welcome and even encouraged -- to vent their hatred ("show your fan colors!") in baseball, and Bonds is far and away the biggest target. And the media beats that drum as well.

People are rooting for failure, and not in a nice, it's-just-part-of-the-game way.

And when Bonds retires, they'll just refocus on someone else, because it's not really about Bonds -- it's about hating something, anything, that challenges (no matter how inaccurately imagined) what little they know to be True.

Right now, though, Bonds is a magnetically easy target, so he gets the brickbats.

Answer 4

I remember an interview he did some years ago, before this whole steroid thing. He and Albert Belle sat next to each other and answered the question on ESPN as to why they both are so "fan unfriendly". Bonds said, if I can paraphrase, "The fans think that I owe them something. Some attention. To sign an autograph. To stop and talk to them. I owe the fans nothing. I get paid to play ball and that's what I do. I owe the fans nothing".
At that point, I concluded to myself that he is a complete ******. I threw away every Bonds BB Card and other sports related items I had of his and Belles.

Answer 5

Unfortunately history could be repeating itself. Hank Aaron received death threats when he was set to pass Babe Ruth's home run record. Some of it could be racial and some could be because people finally came to accept Hank as the home run king and don't like the idea that Bonds could actually surpass Aaron with the alleged use of steroids. This would be a black eye for the records, unless it is proven that Bonds did not use steroids.

Answer 6

Because they are still completely preoccupied with the thought that he used steroids. Well, news flash, so did a lot of other people. Once again, I am not a Bonds apologist, but I just get tired of hearing the same things over and over. Let's just let the game go on.

Answer 7

People hate him because he represents what is wrong with baseball and society. He is self-centered beyond reason, he is a bigot, he cheats, he is a negative figure for kids -- yes, black kids, too -- and he is abrasive and abusive. If he had a single quality of a redeeming nature besides his ability to play ball, he would not be quite as a center of disapproval. The subject of his popularity is not racial, as Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Kirby Puckett, Ernie Banks, and dozens and dozens of other players in baseball, as well as people in other sports (Tiger Wood, Michael Jordan, etc.) have won --yes, even white kids -- people to their games. Bonds is a disgrace, first, as a human being.

Answer 8

Even before the speculation about steroids, Bonds was not popular outside of his teams home city.

This is mostly due to his being very aloof from the fans most of the time, very surrly some of the time and down right nasty frequently. He also was very unkind to the media.

He has changed that outward persona in the past 3 or 4 years. But most of us believe that this is because he knew he was on the verge of history and wants to be remembered as a nice guy. I think he will be remembered as an angry person who may have cheated history.

Answer 9

He's a cheater & liar. Who wants to see a cheater break an all-time record?? That's why I hope A. Rod beats his record because he is doing it clean for all we can tell.
Just look at all pictures of Bonds now compared to when he first started BIG difference.
He also hates white people for what reason, I don't know?!

Answer 10

i love barry and i can't wait till he break the record for all time homers. mostly white people hate barry. is it racial? maybe it was on a espn show most whites dont like barry and dont want him to break the record