Editing Barry Bonds (section)

==Public persona==
During his playing career, Bonds was frequently described as a difficult person, surly, standoffish and ungrateful. In a 2016 interview with [[Terence Moore]], he said he regretted the persona he had created. He attributed it to a response to the pressure he felt to perform as a young player with the Pirates. Remarked Bonds,<ref name=moore060116>{{cite journal |last=Moore |author-link=Terence Moore |first=Terence |url=http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/181374324/barry-bonds-public-image |title=Bonds regrets the way he acted |journal=Sports on Earth |date=June 1, 2016 |access-date=October 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012162438/http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/181374324/barry-bonds-public-image |archive-date=October 12, 2016 }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Hell, I kick myself now, because I'm getting great press [since being more cooperative], and I could have had a trillion more endorsements, but that wasn't my driving force. The problem was, when I tried to give in a little bit, it never got better. I knew I was in the midst of that image, and I determined at that point that I was never going to get out of it.<ref name=moore060116/>}}

{{Blockquote|So I just said, 'I've created this fire around me, and I'm stuck in it, so I might as well live with the flames.'<ref name=moore060116/>}}

Bonds reports that for a short time during his playing days with the Giants he changed his demeanor at the behest of a group of teammates, smiling much more frequently and engaging more with others with a pleasant attitude. Shortly thereafter, Bonds says, in the midst of a slump, the same group of teammates pleaded that he revert, having seemingly lost his competitive edge, and causing the team to lose more. In spite of his protest that they would not appreciate the results, his teammates insisted. Bonds says he complied, maintaining that familiar standoffish edge the rest of his playing career.<ref name=moore060116/>

On May 9, 1996, Bonds shoved ''[[USA Today]]'' journalist [[Rod Beaton (sportswriter)|Rod Beaton]] in the team's clubhouse. As Beaton was waiting to interview [[Robby Thompson]] one hour before a game against the [[St. Louis Cardinals]],<ref name="Gay-1996">{{cite news |last=Gay |first=Nancy |date=May 10, 1996 |title=Irritated Bonds shoves reporter |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/Irritated-Bonds-shoves-reporter-2982953.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231001832/https://www.sfgate.com/sports/amp/Irritated-Bonds-shoves-reporter-2982953.php |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2022 |newspaper=[[SFGate]] |location=San Francisco, California}}</ref> Bonds told Beaton to leave. The reporter replied that Major League Baseball rules allowed him 15 minutes more to talk with players. Bonds waved a finger in Beaton's face and shoved him in the chest, after which members of the team's coaching staff and front office interceded. Bonds and Beaton spoke again after the game. Beaton later said, "He accused me of having an attitude" and "I told him he went over the line by shoving me, but there was no apology."<ref name="Gay-1996" /><ref name="Schudel-2011">{{cite news |last=Schudel |first=Matt |date=July 16, 2011 |title=Rod Beaton, USA Today sportswriter, dies at 59 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/rod-beaton-usa-today-sportswriter-dies-at-59/2011/07/16/gIQAUPfqII_story.html |access-date=January 12, 2022 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |location=Washington, D.C.}}; {{cite news |last=Schudel |first=Matt |date=July 23, 2011 |title=Sportswriter was part of original staff of USA Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91503704/beaton-2011/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231024951/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91503704/beaton-2011/ |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |access-date=January 15, 2022 |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=11 |via=[[Ancestry.com|Newspapers.com]]}}{{free access}}</ref> Bonds felt that the incident was overblown and said that, "We don't have a problem. We like each other. It was a big joke. He just got whacked out."<ref name="Gay-1996" /> Beaton filed no formal complaint about the incident, but ''USA Today'' filed a grievance with the team.<ref name="Gay-1996" />