Barry Bonds told America that he had never taken steroids.

But a testimonial to a federal grand jury, leaked in a report by The San Francisco Chronicle, says different. Bonds’ testimony stated that he didn’t know “the clear” and “the cream” substances he had used and received from trainer Greg Anderson were steroids.

Bonds wants us to believe he is the victim of an old friend’s deception.

Thanks Barry, but please, no more lies.

You did steroids; it’s now proven, so just come clean.

Admit to using steroids — first to yourself, and then to a world you’ve been lying to for years now.

Admit that it is your fault; that there is no excuse for taking a pharmaceutical drug without questioning what it is. You are way too intelligent to play naive to the trickery of a personal trainer — friend or no friend.

Admit that you know all about the high percentage of major leaguers using performance-enhancing drugs; that you have been unfairly targeted as the steroid poster boy when it’s obvious that it’s more a problem of an entire league filled with super-sized players.

Explain the hindrance of a baseball union that has continued to neglect the issue.

Admit that even with performance-enhancing drugs, you are still the best hitter of a steroid era. Even that should stand for something.

Plus, you were just giving the fans what they wanted — excitement by way of the long ball and the nastiest of all sports villains to root against.

There is no need for an asterisk considering Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are just as likely offenders as you. If there is any asterisk, it should belong at the tail end of the last 10-to-20 years or more.

Let the stats speak for you.

You still hit all those home runs, even if you had to fool America and Major League Baseball while doing it. You were great before steroids and you can still be great after steroids.

I hope you don’t expect any support from a media that you dogged over the last 20 years though. Then again, maybe you should have thought about that before doping and hoping the local newspaper wouldn’t dig too deep.

Maybe if you end the lies, and own up to everything, the media and the country will at least respect you for coming clean. It isn’t fair that slugging buddy Jason Giambi — who admitted to injecting himself with what he knew was steroids — is condemned by the league, while you and Gary Sheffield continue to plead ignorant.

Bigger problems could come from your lies down the road though. Lying to ESPN cameras and lying to the federal government certainly carries different penalties.

But ultimately, it’s up to that court of public opinion that keeps its records on file for generations. Pete Rose waited too long to come clean for betting on baseball, and his image may be forever tarnished.

So do your lasting legacy a favor.

Apologize to the fans, sooner than later.

Show the world that you, like many other Americans, got greedy while competing to be the best and made a colossal mistake.

Reveal that despite all of your heroics, you are still just a human being.

Then, without the juice, go out and hit another 53 home runs and break Henry Aarons all-time home run record.

Then, go hit 100 more.

Jimmy Spencer can be reached at [email protected] or at his State Hornet office at (916) 278-6584.