Cycling community wary of Barry Bonds' involvement in sport

Barry Bonds has discovered there's life after baseball, but his tainted past with PEDs is still haunting him.

Cycling is Bonds' new passion, but his involvement in the BALCO investigation - and his claim of never knowingly using PEDs - is making some wary in the cycling community of his involvement in the sport, according to ESPN's Bonnie D. Ford.

Bonds is a financial sponsor of a women's cycling team known as Team Twenty16. His girlfriend, Mari Holden, is a former Olympic silver medalist and acting sports director for the team. But the cycling world, much like baseball during the steroid area, has an overwhelming history of doping, which is being used against Bonds.

"There's part of me that feels he can contribute," says Robin Farina, CEO and co-founder of the Women's Cycling Association advocacy group. "On the other hand, it paints the wrong picture. We're trying to keep an image of clean sport. The sport does need people of his stature and stardom, but we don't need a mixed message for young athletes."

Ford's feature on Bonds integrating into the cycling community suggests that although there are some who oppose his involvement, the industry is generally accepting of Bonds as a participant and sponsor.

"What Barry did in his career is his choice, and I think he's dealing with that. And now he's found cycling and thinks it's great," said Lauren Hall a Twenty16 racer. "I think it's great that he supports us."

Bonds' 2011 trial failed to bring closure to the allegations surrounding his use of PEDs, but he was convicted on an obstruction of justice charge stemming from the investigation, the conviction of which was recently reversed.