Congratulations to Barry Bonds on breaking Major League Baseball's career home run record. Bonds recently hit his 756th home run, but for some the new record is tainted because of Bonds' alleged steroid use. I say alleged because Bonds' grand jury testimony has not been made public but was leaked by a criminal, alcoholic, and drug-addicted lawyer name Troy Ellerman. Ellerman allowed a San Franscisco Chronicle reporter to view transcripts of grand jury testimony. Of course, this was highly illegal but was of no consequence to the reporters who reaped great personal benefit from Ellerman's criminal act.
Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, authors of the book Game of Shadows, are recipients of the George Polk Award for their investigative reporting on steroid use in sports. In addition, the two have won praise from their peers and even President George Bush. I wouldn't doubt if they also received pay raises.
Williams and Fainaru-Wada claim that they published the leaked testimony because the "people" deserved to know the truth. They claim that the country is better, because parents can talk to their kids about the dangers of steroid abuse as a result of the increased awareness surrounding the issue. Williams also asserts his First Amendment right to free speech.
Sorry guys, I don't think you're that altruistic. The bottom line is both Williams and Fainaru-Wada gained wide-spread notoriety and financial benifits for their work with their drug addict accomplice Ellerman. I highly doubt the pair would have been interested in the leaked testimony if they weren't going to receive any personal benefit. So is it alright for the pair to claim they are exempt from jail time for contempt of court for not revealing their source?
Absolutely not. The pair knew the possible consequences of their actions before they published their story and went ahead with it anyway. I suspect it was because the benefits of doing so outweighed the disadvantages. Furthermore, they had direct contact with the criminal. It may be a different story if they were talking to a witness of a crime and not the criminal himself.
Williams and Fainaru-Wada can continue exercise their right to free speech. They don't and didn't have to name their source. The consequence of this action is jail time. Its that simple. In journalism, as in life, you have to take the good with the bad.
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Also, Williams and Fainaru-Wada are hypocrites. While they ask the court to respect their need to protect their sources, they blatantly disregarded the court's same need to protect the individuals who testified under the promise of secrecy.
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