Thoughts on the Marion Jones admission of performance-enhancing drug use.
From the Nixon-Watergate resignation, to the Clinton-Lewinsky censure, to the Scooter Libby-CIA conviction, what often trips those who skirt the law is the cover-up rather than the actual act. When Marion Jones pled guilty to using steroids to improve her athletic performance at the 2000 Olympics, the charge was “lying to federal investigators” not the illegal use of the drugs. On the courthouse steps, Marion Jones said tearfully, “I want you to know that I have been dishonest and you have the right to be angry with me. I have let my country down and I have let myself down.” Jones admitted to using tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), a synthetic anabolic steroid. She said she believed her coach Trevor Graham had given her flax seed oil.
THG, also known as “the clear,” was developed by BALCO, a San Francisco bay area laboratory that is at the heart of a doping scandal that has tarnished the reputations of a number of high-profile athletes, the most notable being Barry Bonds who broke Hank Aaron’s home run record this year. Jones testified in 2003 before a San Francisco grand jury regarding BALCO and spent the next few years defending her reputation, insisting she never used performance-enhancing drugs. Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO, testified that Marion Jones had used the drug. She, in turn, sued him for defamation of character, which resulted in an out-of-court sealed settlement.
THG is closely related to gestinone and trenbolone, anabolic steroids which were banned years ago. THG was not banned until 2003 so the question is, “Did those who used THG before 2003 do something illegal?” It probably depends on the wording of the appropriate statutes from the IOC (International Olympic committee), the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), and professional sports organizations.
Jones will probably be stripped of the gold medals she won at the 2000 Sydney, Australia Olympic Games in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the 4×400-meter relay, and the bronze metals she won in the long jump and the 4×100 meter relay.
Jones was caught almost by chance and the question is, as with most other athletes accused of cheating, “Would they have ever confessed if they had not been caught?” To her credit, when she confessed, there was no attempt to mitigate the circumstances.
We have come a long way since Jim Thorpe was stripped of his medals from the 1912 Olympics because his amateur status was in question. (He played 2 years of semi-pro baseball for money . . . the magnificent sum of $2 a game.) Back then, amateur status was interpreted quite strictly. Performance-enhancing drugs, such as mild doses of strychnine or cocaine, were extremely rare. When the use of steroids by the Russian weightlifting team at the 1952 Olympics became known, the use of not only steroids, but amphetamines, EPO (erythropoietin), human growth hormone, and of course THG became commonplace. The various amateur and professional organizations have steadfastly limited the use of performance-enhancing drugs but the money involved in sports, not only in professional sports but also in endorsements after one’s amateur career has ended, has tempted many athletes to chance exposure and expulsion to become a “winner.”
William Cohen