Tony Kornheiser and Perjury

Tony Kornheiser, co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, believes that the American legal system would be better served if the perjury charges against athletes like Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, and possibly Roger Clemens and others caught up in baseball's steroids scandal are set aside. In Kornheiser's uninformed judgment, athletes lying under oath isn't such a big deal because they were merely trying to protect themselves. Perhaps this can be termed the athletes' perjury exception rule. Kornheiser's view gives credence to the notion that people should confine themselves to matters of which they have some knowledge. Perjury, the wilful telling of an untruth while under oath, is a serious offense that obstructs the administration of justice. As one federal court observed, "Perjury, regardless of the setting, is a serious offense that results in incalculable harm to functioning and integrity of the legal system as well as to private individuals." And that also includes persons who happen to be athletes.