Marion Jones’ admission of steroid use Friday in a New York courtroom tarnishes more than her own reputation: It stains every elite athlete, even those who have never been accused of doping. That’s the conclusion of many in the athletic and anti-doping communities trying to come to grips with the confession of drug use by one of the highest-profile competitors in sports. Even people who had long been skeptical of Jones’ protestations of innocence were stunned by Friday’s developments. “It shows the demonstrated willingness of many athletes to lie through their teeth,” said John Hoberman, a University of Texas professor and expert on steroids in sports. He argues that the Jones case testifies to how the pressure to excel alters moral compasses and drives a surprising number of elite athletes to performance-enhancing drugs. “A lot of us did not believe that doping was occurring on the scale it turned out to be,” he said. “Many athletes held up to us as role models have turned out to operate in an ethics-free zone.”
Los Angeles Times
Jones’ Steroid Case Will Affect All Athletes
(Oct. 6)
