When San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 715th home run on May 28, he passed Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list, but many people believe he cheated while doing it. Plagued by allegations that he took steroids to boost his performance, Bonds, 42, is often viewed with disdain. While playing in Philadelphia, baseball fans jeered him, holding signs such as "Just Retire!" "Barry Cheated!" and "Got Juice?"-a slang reference to steroids.

Yet, there's another side to the Bonds controversy: Nobody has proven that he knowingly took illegal drugs, and Bonds insists that he's a victim of critics who are determined to bring him down. "If it makes them happy to go out of their way to try to destroy me, go right ahead," Bonds has said, breaking down in tears. "You can't hurt me any more than you've already hurt me."

Should Barry Bonds be given the benefit of the doubt? "That's the law in this country," replies Suzyn Waldman, a New York Yankees broadcaster. "Unless it's proven-which you cannot-that Barry Bonds did not break these records truthfully, then the records stand."