Turn Off Ads?
Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: The Marion Jones Debacle

  1. #1
    Smooth WMR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Lexington, Kentucky
    Posts
    16,960

    The Marion Jones Debacle

    Report: Jones used steroids for two years before 2000 Games

    ESPN.com news services

    Marion Jones admitted using steroids before the 2000 Olympics in a recent letter to close family and friends and is expected to enter a guilty plea in connection with her steroid use in federal court on Friday, according to media reports.

    The Washington Post first reported Thursday that in her letter, Jones, a triple gold medalist in Sydney who repeatedly denied doping allegations for years, said she took "the clear" for two years, beginning in 1999, and that she got it from former coach Trevor Graham.

    "I want to apologize for all of this," the Post reported Jones saying in her letter, quoting a person who received a copy and read it to the paper. "I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways."

    Jones is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., on Friday to plead guilty. The New York Times reported that according to two lawyers connected with the case, Jones is expected to plead guilty to one count of making false statements to federal agents about her use of performance-enhancing drugs and one count of making false statements to federal agents in connection with a separate check fraud case.

    In her letter, Jones said Graham told her "the clear" was flaxseed oil. "The clear" is a performance-enhancing drug linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports.

    Jones had steadfastly denied she ever took any kind of performance-enhancing drugs.

    Jones said in her letter that she faced up to six months in jail and would be sentenced in three months, according to the newspaper.

    Medals in Jeopardy

    The statute of limitations on doping cases is generally eight years, which would put Marion Jones' five medals (three golds and two bronzes) at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in jeopardy. She could also lose medals from the World Championships in 2001.

    If Jones is stripped of her 2004 Olympic medals (the U.S. Olympic Committee declined to comment on whether Jones would lose her medals until legal proceedings are completed), Greece's Ekaterini Thanou will move up to the gold medal spot in the 100 meters, followed by Tanya Lawrence and Merlene Ottey of Jamaica.

    Thanou was one of two Greek sprinters accused of missing a doping test and staging a motorcycle accident to avoid being tested on the night of the 2004 Athens Olympics opening ceremonies. In December 2004, Thanou and Costas Kenderis were banned for two years. In September, a Greek court postponed a perjury trial for Thanou and Kenderis until next June.

    In the 200, Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas would get the gold, followed by Susanthika Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka and Beverly McDonald of Jamaica. Jamaica, Russia and Nigeria would be the medalists in the women's 4x400 relay.

    Two athletes would be awarded bronze medals in place of Jones: Tatiana Kotova of Russia in the long jump and France in the 4x100 relay.

    Jones didn't win a medal in the 2004 Athens Games. She was fifth in the long jump, while the U.S. 4x100 relay team dropped the baton and was disqualified.

    Ironically, Jones already lost a medal in the 2001 World Championships to doping charges against one of her teammates. She was on the team of Kelli White, Chryste Gaines and Inger Miller that won the gold, but White admitted to doping in 2004 and was stripped of her medals. Jones was second in the 100 in the 2001 Worlds; Thanou was third. She won the 200, followed by Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas and LaTasha Jenkins of the United States.

    Jones did not medal in the 2003 or 2005 World Championships.
    "Red flags should have been raised when [Graham] told me not to tell anyone," the Post reported, quoting the letter.

    No one answered the door at Jones' Austin, Texas, home Thursday night, and a message left by the AP for a phone number registered to her husband, Obadele Thompson, was not immediately returned.

    The admission could cost Jones the five medals she won at the Sydney Olympics. Though she fell short of her goal of winning five gold medals, she came away with three and two bronzes and was one of the Games' biggest stars.

    But her career has been tarnished by doping allegations since then.

    In December 2004, the International Olympic Committee opened an investigation into doping allegations against Jones.

    "Progress to date has been slow due to the difficulty of gathering findings," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said. "The information that Marion Jones might provide later on [Friday] may prove to be key in moving this case forward."

    Under statute of limitations rules, the IOC and other sports bodies can go back eight years to strip medals and nullify results. In Jones' case, that would include the Sydney Games, where she won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay and bronze in the long jump and 400-meter relay.

    In addition to any jail term, Jones could face a long competition ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

    The International Association of Athletics Federations said it was waiting for official notification from USADA setting out the details of Jones' reported admission.

    If she admits to having been on drugs during a specific period, the IAAF could strip Jones of all her medals and results from the world championships and other events from that time. She won three gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the 1999 and 2001 worlds.

    "Our rules are clear if she confesses," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said.

    "It's the destruction of a heroine of the day," Dick Pound, the chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, told the Times. "It's sad at one level, but it's still tawdry cheating at another level."

    Victor Conte, former head of BALCO, repeatedly has accused Jones of doping.

    Speaking to ESPN.com's Mike Fish on Thursday, Conte reiterated his claim that Jones cheated her way to Olympic Games success by using the oil known as "the clear" and arthritis balm commonly called "the cream."

    "What I said in December of 2004 is that Marion Jones had used the cream and the clear -- that was a true statement," he said. "I'm here today saying the same thing again -- that before during and after the Olympic Games in 2000 that Marion Jones used [performance-enhancing drugs]."

    Jones sued Conte in 2004 for $25 million after he told ABC's "20/20" and ESPN the Magazine that the sprinter used designer steroids, human growth hormone and other illegal performance enhancers before, during and after the 2000 Games.

    Conte said he taught Jones how to inject HGH during a track meet in 2001. He said he also held conference calls with Jones and Graham where the three of them discussed Jones' "doping" regimen.

    In her defamation lawsuit, Jones said she never took banned performance-enhancing drugs and passed more than 160 separate drug tests, including five different drug tests at the 2000 Olympics.

    Jones and Conte settled the lawsuit in 2005 for an undisclosed amount.

    Jones was one of several athletes, including home run king Barry Bonds, New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi and Detroit Tigers outfielder Gary Sheffield, to be linked to BALCO and were among more than two dozen athletes who testified before a federal grand jury in 2003.

    According to grand jury transcripts obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Bonds said he thought two substances given to him by trainer Greg Anderson were flaxseed oil and an arthritic balm. Authorities suspect those items were actually BALCO-linked "the clear" and "the cream."

    In her letter, Jones said she didn't realize she'd used performance-enhancing drugs until she stopped training with Graham at the end of 2002. She said she lied when federal agents questioned her in 2003, panicking when they presented her with a sample of "the clear," which she recognized as the substance Graham had given her.

    "It's funky, because you wanted to believe she was clean," said Jon Drummond, a gold medalist in the 400 relay in Sydney. "It's like that old saying, 'Cheaters never win.' So no matter how glorious or glamorous things look, you'll get caught and pay a price for it.

    "It caught me by total surprise," he added. "It's a shock. I thought it was a closed case. It doesn't help track and field at all, except maybe by letting the world know, people always get to the bottom of things. We shouldn't be afraid of the truth, but it's sad it came to this."

    Jones' career has been tarnished the last several years by doping allegations against her. In August 2006, a urine sample tested positive for EPO, but Jones was cleared when a backup sample tested negative.

    She also was among the athletes who testified before a BALCO grand jury in 2003. Her former boyfriend, Tim Montgomery, also testified, and was given a two-year ban for doping in late 2005. Michelle Collins and Justin Gatlin, who also trained with Graham, were banned for doping violations, too.

    Graham has a Nov. 26 trial date after being indicted in the BALCO case last November on three counts of lying to federal agents. Graham, who has pleaded not guilty, helped launch the government's steroid probe in 2003 when he mailed a vial of "the clear" -- previously undetectable -- to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

    A woman who answered the phone at Graham's home in Raleigh, N.C., declined to identify herself, but said Graham was not home before refusing to answer any other questions. There was no answer at the door of Graham's north Raleigh home.

    USA Track & Field was not aware of Jones' letter nor any pending legal action, CEO Craig Masback said.

    "Anything that exposes the truth about drug use in sport is good for ensuring the integrity of sport," Masback said. "Any use of performance-enhancing substances is a tragedy for the athlete, their teammates, friends, family and the sport."

    Darryl Seibel, spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee, declined comment on whether Jones would lose her medals until legal proceedings are completed.

    "If these reports are true," Seibel said, "it is an admission of responsibility from an athlete who owed her sport and the Olympic movement much better."

    Seibel added that "our position on doping is unequivocal. Doping is cheating, and under no circumstance will it be tolerated. If an athlete cheats, they deserve to pay the price for their action."

    The Post also reported that, in her letter, Jones said she lied about a $25,000 check given to her by Montgomery, who pleaded guilty in New York in April as part of a criminal scheme to cash millions of dollars worth of stolen or forged checks. He has yet to be sentenced.

    Wells, Jones' longtime agent, and Olympian Steve Riddick, another of Jones' former coaches, also were convicted in the scam.

    Bank records indicated Jones had received a $25,000 check from one of the alleged conspirators -- Nathaniel Alexander, who shared office space with Riddick and also was convicted. The check never cleared, according to records, and Jones was never charged.

    "Once again, I panicked," the Post reported, quoting Jones' letter. "I did not want my name associated with this mess. I wanted to stay as far away as possible."

    In her prime, Jones was one of track's first female millionaires, typically earning between $70,000 and $80,000 a race, plus at least another $1 million from race bonuses and endorsement deals.

    In 2000-01, she competed in 21 international events, including the Sydney Olympics, where she won five medals -- three gold.

    A lawyer familiar with the case told the New York Daily News that once Jones' plea is official, prosecutors will turn their attention back to Bonds. The grand jury investigating him for perjury and tax evasion was extended until January but is not believed to have met since its term was extended.

    "He's next," the lawyer said, according to the Daily News.

    Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com's Mike Fish was used in this report.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tracka...ory?id=3049333


  2. Turn Off Ads?
  3. #2
    Smooth WMR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Lexington, Kentucky
    Posts
    16,960

    Re: The Marion Jones Debacle

    She put forth one of the most vehement denials of wrong-doing that I have ever heard... she is a really good liar.

    Victor Conte's credibility continues to grow...

  4. #3
    Are we not men? Yachtzee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    The Rubber City
    Posts
    7,413

    Re: The Marion Jones Debacle

    Quote Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS View Post
    She put forth one of the most vehement denials of wrong-doing that I have ever heard... she is a really good liar.

    Victor Conte's credibility continues to grow...
    Right up there with Rafael Palmiero's.
    Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!

  5. #4
    AlienTruckStopSexWorker cincinnati chili's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Denver
    Posts
    11,896

    Re: The Marion Jones Debacle

    Quote Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS View Post
    Victor Conte's credibility continues to grow...


    That's an interesting what to put it. I guess under the Rules of Evidence, he's a credibile witness. Bus so is a mafioso turncoat.

    I also have no doubt that he would lie through his teeth to save his own skin. If Game of Shadows is to be believed, he's been a "user" of people his whole life.
    Stick to your guns.

  6. #5
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: The Marion Jones Debacle

    This report does lend credibility to Game of Shadows. The authors detail Jones' use as well.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David

  7. #6
    Member texasdave's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    19,572

    Re: The Marion Jones Debacle

    Sports is quickly losing its appeal for me. I tend to be naive and I suppose cheating in some form or other has always occurred. But lately cheating, throwing games, steroid usage etc. seem to be everywhere. If there was one person that I really wanted to believe when they denied usage steroids it was Marion Jones. To watch her on television was both painful and at the same time disgusting. I heard someone say that she wasn't sorry at all for disappointing her family, friends or fans. She was sorry she got caught. At that moment I thought it was a cruel and cynical thing to say. Couldn't they see her pain? But upon reflection maybe that person was right. After all, hadn't Marion Jones stood up there and lied to us time after time? Maybe this was another act. It may be true that sports builds character. But it also painfully obvious these days that character can be bought and sold.

  8. #7
    Member Sea Ray's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    26,041

    Re: The Marion Jones Debacle

    Quote Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS View Post
    Victor Conte's credibility continues to grow...
    I don't know about that. Victor Conte continues to deny that Barry Bonds ever did steroids. You think he's telling the truth?

    http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseb...e-denial_x.htm

    If Barry Bonds used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, he didn't get them directly from BALCO or founder Victor Conte, according to Conte, nearing the end of a four-month prison term for trafficking steroids...
    Last edited by Sea Ray; 10-08-2007 at 03:02 PM.

  9. #8
    He has the Evil Eye! flyer85's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    south of the border
    Posts
    23,858

    Re: The Marion Jones Debacle

    to find the the last top female sprinter that wasn't using enhancements you have to go back to Evelyn Ashford.

  10. #9
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Philadelphia, PA
    Posts
    2,133

    Marion Jones sentenced to 6 months in prison

    Jones (six months), former coach (63 months) sentenced to prison
    Associated Press

    Updated: January 11, 2008, 5:59 PM ET
    Comment
    Email
    Print
    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Marion Jones was sentenced Friday to six months in prison for lying about using steroids and a check-fraud scam, despite beseeching the judge that she not be separated from her two young children "even for a short period of time."

    "I ask you to be as merciful as a human being can be,'' said Jones, who cried on her husband's shoulder after she was sentenced.

    The disgraced former Olympic champion was ordered to surrender March 11 to begin her term.

    U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas said he gave her the maximum under her plea deal to send a message to athletes who have abused drugs and overlooked the values of "hard work, dedication, teamwork and sportsmanship."

    "Athletes in society have an elevated status, they entertain, they inspire, and perhaps, most important, they serve as role models," Karas said.


    Later Friday, the judge sentenced Jones' former coach, Olympic champion Steve Riddick, to 5 years and 3 months in prison for his role in the check-fraud scam, less than what the sentencing guidelines recommended. Riddick also was given three years' probation and must pay back $375,000.

    The 31-year-old Jones also was given two years' probation and supervised release, during which she will be required to perform 800 hours of community service.


    What is your reaction to Marion Jones' six-month prison sentence?
    Too harsh
    Just right
    Too light




    "As everyone can imagine, I'm very disappointed today," Jones told reporters outside court. "But as I stood in front of all of you for years in victory, I stand in front of you today. I stand for what is right."

    "I respect the judge's order, and I truly hope that people will learn from my mistakes," added Jones.

    The judge said this would take advantage of Jones' "eloquence, strength and her ability to work with kids."

    It was her children that worried Jones most as she implored the judge for a lighter sentence, talking at length about her two boys, including the infant son she's still nursing.

    "My passion in life has always been my family," Jones said. "I know the day is quickly approaching when my boys ask me about these current events. I intend to be honest and forthright ... and guide them into not making the same mistakes."

    The sentence completes a stunning fall for the woman who was once the most celebrated female athlete in the world. She won three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

    After long denying she ever had used performance-enhancing drugs, Jones admitted last October she lied to federal investigators in November 2003, acknowledging she took the designer steroid "the clear" from September 2000 to July 2001. "The clear" has been linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports.

    She also admitted lying about her knowledge of the involvement of Tim Montgomery, the father of her older son Monty, in a scheme to cash millions of dollars worth of stolen or forged checks. Montgomery, Riddick and several others have been convicted in that scam.

    "The revelation that one of the sport's biggest stars took performance-enhancing drugs and repeatedly lied about it, in addition to being a party to fraud, has no silver lining," USA Track & Field president Bill Roe and CEO Craig Masback said in a statement. "But, it is a vivid morality play that graphically illustrates the wages of cheating in any facet of life, on or off the track."

    After her guilty pleas last October, Jones made an apologetic and teary-eyed statement outside court, saying, "It's with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust."

    "I have been dishonest, and you have the right to be angry with me," she added. "I have let [my family] down. I have let my country down, and I have let myself down. ... I want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

    BALCO founder Victor Conte, who served four months in prison after pleading guilty to operating a steroids distribution ring, said Friday he felt sad for Jones and her family.

    "Marion did make some very poor choices, and she does deserve serious consequences. I certainly don't condone her repeated lies," Conte said in a statement. "There is no doubt in my mind that she has learned gigantic lessons. Hopefully, she will be able to serve as an example and help others to make good decisions."

    Jones returned her Olympic medals -- golds in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay and bronzes in the long jump and 400-meter relay -- even before the International Olympic Committee ordered her to do so and wiped her results from the books.

    She was among the many athletes who testified in 2003 before a grand jury investigating BALCO. And on the day she pleaded guilty, prosecutors said a 2003 search warrant at BALCO uncovered ledgers, purchases, doping calendars, and various blood-test results connected to Jones and former coach Trevor Graham.

    She took EPO, human growth hormone and THG using drops and injections, according to the court documents that show use in 2000 and 2001.

    "Today's sentencing is illustrative of just how far-reaching and serious the consequences of cheating can be,'' U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Jim Scherr said in a statement. "The fact that an athlete with so much talent and promise, who so many people looked up to, made the decision to cheat is a terrible disappointment.''


Turn Off Ads?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.

Thank you, and most importantly, enjoy yourselves!


RedsZone.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds or Major League Baseball


Contact us: Boss | Gallen5862 | Plus Plus | Powel Crosley | RedlegJake | The Operator