Leave it to Sports Illustrated to not understand the Barry Bonds issue. Ben Reiter wrote, “If teams are rejecting Bonds on moral grounds, WHO ARE THEY KIDDING?” and “Still, in a sport where teams happily take late-career chances on outcasts like John Rocker and men of advanced age like Julio Franco, there should be a locker for Bonds somewhere.” [Emphasis in original article, “Will Work for What He Made in ’86,” Sports Illustrated, July 28, 2008, p. 18.
Well, there is a difference between hiring a guy who mouthed off about subway riders (Rocker) or another who is long in the tooth (Franco) and a guy who is under indictment by the feds for perjury charges related to the steroids mess (Bonds). We don’t yet indict folks for being less than PC, which Rocker was. And thanks to aging baby boomers, we love to see the old duffers out there giving it the old pre-rest-home try. Think Greg Norman at 53 giving the Scots great delight in the recent British Open. 
Baseball has survived the steroids mess because we love baseball and assume the owners will try harder. But it is a bit much to equate the Bonds’ missteps with insensitivity and old age. The latter two problems can be forgiven and don’t involve criminal trials (yet!). There are moral grounds for rejecting Bonds. Thank goodness the owners have shown moral restraint and not called Barry, despite an offer of WWFF (will work for free). Barry’s conduct is hardly the equivalent of Rocker’s. And age is not a moral issue. But Bonds’ conduct is. As Rangers player Milton Bradley explained about Bonds, “If I’ve got baggage, he’s got a whole set of Louis Vuitton.” Leave it to the players to see the difference. Ethics does involve discernment, discretion, and forgiveness. All three are evident in the choices the teams have made about how to deal with those who cross ethical, and sometimes, legal lines. The banishment should suit the underlying offense.
There may also be some good ethical/business analysis going on in this decision, proving once again that ethics and financial and performance goals are not mutually exclusive. In the parlance of the youth, bringing Bonds back is so not worth it. The controversy he would generate would distract from the goals and require a layer of organization in the club to respond to Bonds noise that would surely result. Can’t focus, can’t win. Once again, ethics and business success walk on the same side of the street.
About mmjdiary
Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD.
The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards.
Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio.
She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.
In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles.
Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
