By DPA
San Francisco : Baseball superstar Barry Bonds, the all-time US Major League home run king, has been indicted for denying under oath that he knowingly used steroids.
The indictment was unsealed in a federal court in San Francisco, charging Bonds with perjury and obstruction of justice in testimony to a grand jury in December 2003.
Bonds, 43, was subpoenaed to testify during an investigation into Balco Laboratories, which was shut down for illegally distributing steroids to athletes.
“During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes,” the indictment said.
Playing most of his long career for the San Francisco Giants, Bonds broke the all-time career home-run record last season, shattering the 755-mark set by Hank Aaron in 1976. Bonds finished the season with 762 career home runs.
Bonds admitted under oath to taking substances given to him by his personnel trainer, Greg Anderson, but claimed that he believed it was flaxseed oil – not steroids. US track superstar and Olympic gold medallist Marion Jones pleaded guilty this year to lying to federal investigators over her steroid use in connection to the Balco case.
The decision to indict Bonds surprised baseball observers who believed that after four years, investigators hadn’t come up with enough evidence to bring charges against the left fielder.
The Giants announced in September that they would not sign Bonds for another season, making him a free agent. Bonds has been plagued with knee injuries and other physical problems in recent years, cutting sharply into his playing time and eroding his once stellar all-around skills.
Bonds debuted in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 before joining the Giants in 1993.
Steroid use has clouded Bonds pursuit of Aaron’s record over the last several years and blemished one of America’s most cherished sports milestones.