NEW YORK -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson says Major League Baseball and San Diego police failed to protect Barry Bonds and should be trying to find out who threw a syringe at him Monday night.
The object was thrown near the Giants leftfielder as he left the field following the eighth inning in San Diego. Bonds picked up the syringe -- about the size of a magic marker -- and carried it off the field.
"That fan should have been arrested," Jackson said. "That object could have had a needle in it. It could have hit him. The commissioner of baseball must be outspoken in protecting any players whose lives are in jeopardy."
The object didn't appear to have a needle, and Bonds called it a syringe. Baseball spokesman Rich Levin, after speaking with Padres chief executive officer Sandy Alderson, said Tuesday it might have been a cooking baster.
Jackson, a longtime civil rights leader and ex-presidential candidate, said Bonds has been treated unfairly by those who accept as fact accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
"For some people, it's about suspicion of drug use because they have no proof. For others, it's a cover for other anger that they have," Jackson said. "For example, the closer Hank Aaron got to Babe Ruth's record, the more violence and hate mail he received.
"You can't let this build to the point of irreversible danger."
Jesse Jackson comes to Bonds defense
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Originally Posted by The Great One
