Marion Jones Pleads Guilty to Lying to Feds

By Robert H. Kelly

(WHITE PLAINS, NY, October 5, 2007) Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to federal investigators about using steroids.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist also announced her retirement from the sport. In grand jury testimony, Jones had adamantly defended herself against allegations of steroid use before the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she won five medals.

This humble reporter has followed Jones' career for a very long time, first observing her as a 17-year-old high school sprinter who made the Olympic team in 1992 as an alternate on the 4 X 100 sprint relay.

Over the years, I have watched her blaze down the track and destroy all comers in the sprints. Before the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, I remember watching her defend her the husband C.J. Hunter as he faced questions concerning his positive drug test prior to the Games.

At that time, I began to have my doubts about Jones. Her body was one big muscle and I felt at the time she was on performance-enhancing drugs. As time went on, I became more and more convinced that she was on something, no matter how many drug tests she passed. During the BALCO investigation, the evidence that I read pointed to her involvement. I remember thinking during all of this that "she was protesting way too much."

Well....now it all came to past today. She admitted that she did lie and was on performance-enhancing drugs in Sydney. She stated in a press conference that she did lie and she was retiring from track and field.

WOW....an athlete that admitted she cheated. I wonder why did she that? Did the feds have something else on her and offered her a deal? We may never find out. But one thing is certain. She will be stripped of her Olympic and World Championships medals, her performances removed from the record books, and she will do some time in a 6 foot by 8 foot prison cell.

This is all a shame. She had such a promissing career and felt she needed to cheat to compete. Hopefully she has learned a lesson that should have been drilled into her head at a young age. "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

I wonder how long until Barry Bonds has the same fate?