Marion Jones' Shame

I have been a fan of track and field since the late 1980s. I ran it in high school and college, and have followed the sport since that time. I have attended - as a spectator - the 1991 NCAA Championships and the 2000 Olympic Trials, which were held right here in Sacramento. One of the highlights of those trials was watching Marion Jones qualify in three individual events: the 100m, 200m, and the Long Jump. A few months later in Sydney, Australia, Jones medaled in those three events, plus two more medals in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays, for a total of five Olympic medals. Four years later, in Athens, Jones added two bronze medals to her collection for a total of seven Olympic medals.

That's all gone now. Marion Jones has admitted to steroid use in connection with the BALCO lab in the Bay Area, to which Barry Bonds has also been associated. It's a darn shame what some people are willing to give up in order to win glory and some round metal discs. Of course we all know that's not all. Although Marion Jones was commanding around $80,000 a race over in Europe, where she made her real money was with commercial endorsements. With the stain of drug use now all over her, those endorsements will be no more as well.

This is the second time I have watched a superstar fall in track due to drug use. When I was a junior in high school, I was so excited to watch the showdown between Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson in the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. What a letdown it was for me a couple days later when Johnson tested positive for steroids and had his gold medal and world record stripped away from him. Now the same thing will happen to Marion Jones. She has no world records to lose, but those seven medals she won are now revoked.

The toughest part for me in watching the downfall of Marion Jones is that I knew her when. In June of 1990, just a few days before I graduated from high school, my mother and I drove down to the L.A. area to watch the California State High School Track and Field Championships. Winning the girls 100m and 200m at that meet was a mere freshman from Rio Mesa High in Oxnard. That girl was Marion Jones. I remember watching her run at the time and thinking to myself that this girl is going to be a superstar. Ten years later, imagine how excited I was to see my prediction come true. You can then imagine how much it pains me to see Marion Jones crash and burn.

The Proverb has always said that the wages of sin is death. In this case, the death would be Marion Jones' career. Hell of a shame.

Good Day to You, Sir