Scoop Jackson: The Defiant Jersey

Scoop Jackson: The Defiant Jersey
Waging War Amid Shadows: The Saga of a Bonds jersey
ESPN Page 2

I brain wrestled for over a year about buying a Barry Bonds jersey. Worried about what it would mean. What it might say.

But through thick and Nicole Richie, I had his back. As I should. So I went on a mission.
716. 717. 718.

Watching what Aaron went through when I was a kid, a spot in my soul resented what Babe Ruth and "America's game" stood for. Made me feel like the part of the Constitution that considered my grandfather three-fifths of a human being. We'll call it defiance.

I searched for a game-used jersey. Couldn't find one immediately. So I laid off it.
740. 741. 742.

As the number grew closer, my defiance increased. Not because of love for Bonds, but because of the way he was being treated. The picture painted of him was incomplete. It was of him on an island, alone, as if no other player faced the same accusations. As it turned out, Rafael Palmeiro joined the 3,000-hit club after he tested positive for steroids, but never saw or heard the same outcry (he was later suspended for 10 games). Watched Jason Giambi do everything except not admit to doing what the "Sultan of Steroids" was being accused of. Giambi never faced the same wrath. Heard Roger Clemens' name surfaced in the Jason Grimsley affidavit. It seemed unfair, even if Bonds was wrong.

Defiance grew. Was it the record he was chasing or was it because of who he was? The answer, I thought, could be found in the jersey. The search was back on.

Bonds hit 754.

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