Barry Bonds Convicted Felon, He Says It's 'Heartbreaking' (VIDEO)
San Francisco baseball player Barry Bonds has admitted that he's a convicted felon, but denied being convicted for steroid use and stated that dealing with past charges has been "heartbreaking."
The Giants player has recently referred to himself in public as a convicted felon, but is quick to deny that he was ever convicted of steroid use.
"I went through the system. And that's what it is," told the Associated Press Monday. "And that's what I got. I went through the system. I'm in an appeal process right now. I was never convicted of steroids."
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Bonds, who was attending a Diamondbacks-Giants game as a volunteer for the Big Brothers and Sisters organization, stated that there was little that he could do about the past.
"Do I have any regrets? What happened happened. It's there. It is what it is. I live with it. I'm a convicted felon for obstruction of justice, and that's who I am. I live with it," Bonds told AP news.
Bonds began playing major league baseball in 1986 and has been considered one of the greatest players of all time. In 2007, a massive steroids scandal resulted in the player being convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice after he denied knowingly taking any illegal steroids.
Bonds, who is now looking to work for the Giants club, admitted that dealing with the charges has been painful at times.
"I gave my life and soul to that game. That's what's heartbreaking. That's the hard part of it," Bonds told reporters. "My [reputation] was kind of iffy anyway. I created that guy out there for entertainment only. Whether you hated me or liked me, you were there. And I only wanted you there. I just wanted you to see the show. That was it."
Bonds, who hit a record 762 home runs during his 22-year major league career, suggested that it was always the crowd that he was playing for.
"All I ever wanted was for people to have a good time and enjoy it. It was fun to come out and people would boo or yay or whatever. They all showed up to see whatever would happen next, and it motivated me to play hard."
