I'm old enough to truly understand that very few things in this world are black and white.

I relish the gray areas and I understand how important they are to our comprehension of events around us and the decision making process we use every day.

That gray area is especially true for big events and big decisions, and there's no doubt that Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron's all-time home run record is a big event and requires a big decision.

The home run record may be the most hallowed record in all of sports. Only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game seems to be close in magnitude.

The big decision about this event is how we should react. That decision is one for all of us, but it weighs especially heavily on baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

Selig has refused to announce whether he will attend the game where Bonds breaks the record. He won't talk about what kind of celebration, if any, there should be for this achievement.

He knows the black and white of this decision.

Black says don't go. Let's not kid ourselves and make a hero out of this guy who has taken steroids and cheated his way to the record.

White says nothing has been proven against Bonds and we believe people are innocent until convicted, so go and honor the achievement. You add that if he's later found to have cheated, he can be stripped of the record.

It seems as if there are only two alternatives here, but I believe there is a gray area and the nice thing about it is that it puts the onus on Bonds himself.

Selig should send a letter to Bonds, saying that he would love to help celebrate this achievement, but that he needs to assure himself that the record is not tainted. Then ask Bonds to respond to a question or two or three, under oath. If the response is positive, then Selig will go. If not, then he stays away and baseball ignores what happens.

I'm not a lawyer, but they can get some lawyers to help draw up the questions. One suggestion might be: "Mr. Bonds, have you ever taken steroids?" I don't know. Call me crazy, but if Bonds says no under oath, he says no. If he says yes, he says yes.

But more importantly, if he refuses to answer, which is the most likely response, then Selig has legitimate grounds to ignore the game and instruct the rest of the baseball world to act accordingly.

Trying to get Bonds to answer gives Selig and the rest of baseball solid ground upon which to stand. There will be no accusations of rushing to judgment or closing your eyes to the obvious.

What's more we can let the Bonds record breaking performance pass and move on to what's really important, finding a way to get rid of these drugs in the world of sports.