Williams: I Never Thought Bonds Indictment Would Occur

By: Joe Strupp Lance Williams, who co-authored the San Francisco Chronicle stories that broke the Barry Bonds steroid case open years ago, says he did not believe it would come to an indictment of the home run king.

"It is a huge story, but one I never thought I'd write," said Williams, who with former Chronicle scribe Mark Fainaru-Wada first revealed leaked testimony tying Bonds to steroids. "I didn't think they would necessarily go for it. They had taken forever and I didn't think they would go for the celebrity athlete."

Williams spoke to E&P late Thursday as he worked on his own coverage of Bonds' indictment, which was announced yesterday and requires him to be in court early next month. Williams and Fainaru-Wada, who is now with ESPN, faced their own legal battle over their reporting when federal investigators subpoenaed them seeking sources for their access to the testimony, but the case never reached a jail sentence.

Williams, who also co-authored a book on the case with Fainaru-Wada, said he had no prior knowledge of the indictment coming down, although he noted that Thursdays were often "indictment days" in federal cases. "I was anticipating it and worrying about it for years," he said. "We kept hearing they were still knocking on doors and talking to people. It gives one more big news story."

Williams also believed a trial would give any critics of his previous reporting and supporters of Bonds a chance to see the proof that has accumulated. "By the time we are done with this, the public will get to see all of the evidence that has been kept secret," he explained.

Friday's Chronicle did not blanket coverage of the indictment on Page One, as it did when Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home run record months ago. But the story was prominently played as a lead, with extensive coverage on the Web site.

Williams added that he would avoid testifying in such a trial, even if the testimony did not involve confidential sourcing and just focused on facts of the case. "I have no interest in becoming anybody's witness," Williams stated. "We'll fight like wildcats against it."

Fainaru-Wada and Editor Phil Bronstein did not return calls seeking comment.