It's really no secret that many marriages amongst professional athletes aren't the most sacred unions. When the man is on the road a significant number of dates a year it's not uncommon for him to at least be tempted to get some on the side. Well, former MLB star Barry Bonds is on trial for perjury and obstruction of justice, and his long-term former mistress Kimberly Bell testified and shed light on the apparent long-held belief amongst baseball players that Miami is "a girlfriend city." Maybe there's a way the Marlins could use this for in-game psychological warfare?
Bell carried on a relationship with Bonds from 1994 til 2003, though Bonds divorced his first wife in 1994 and married his second in 1998. Bell was apparently always meant just to be "a girlfriend."
According to NBC's HardballTalk and Tweets from Gwen Knap, who is covering the trial, Bell told prosecutors that Bonds told her Miami was "a girlfriend city," meaning it was a place where players would often rendezvous with mistresses while on the road.
The prosecutor asked her if there are also "wife cities" and if other players follow this apparent rule. Bell replied yes to both.
We're not sure, but wouldn't be surprised if players in other leagues also followed this rule.
This probably puts the Marlins in a sticky situation. We'd assumed they couldn't, by default, use Miami as a girlfriend city.
Though perhaps there's someway fans could use this to an advantage. Perhaps we could start bringing signs to games that read "Have fun cheating on your wife last night?" or just flash their wedding photos on the jumbotron. Perhaps "Here Comes the Bride" might become a trademark in-stadium song?
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