| Watch over 50 IAAF Events Live and On-Demand at WCSN.com |
As the New York Times reported on Saturday, disgraced sprinter Marion Jones is among more than 2,300 convicted felons who have requested pardons or communations from President George W. Bush. Douglas G. Logan, the new CEO of USA Track & Field sent a letter of his own to the Oval Office, asking the outgoing President: please don’t.
“With her cheating and lying, Marion Jones did everything she could to violate the principles of track and field and Olympic competition,” Logan wrote in an open letter sent to Bush today.
Citing a “moral and practical duty to make a case against her request”, Logan continued, “When she came under scrutiny for doping, she taunted any who doubted her purity, talent and work ethic. Just as she had succeeded in duping us with her performances, she duped many people into giving her the benefit of the doubt.”
"She pointed her finger at us, and got away with it until federal investigators teamed up with USADA and finally did her in. It was a sad thing to watch, the most glorious female athlete of the 20th century in tears on courthouse steps."
Jones, who was sentenced to six months in a federal prison for lying to federal agents about her use of performance-enhancing drugs and a check-fraud scam, began her term on March 7. She returned her Olympic medals to the IOC last year.
“Few things are more globally respected than the Olympic Games, and to pardon one of the biggest frauds perpetuated on the Olympic movement would be nothing less than thumbing our collective noses at the world,” Logan wrote.
“In my new job as CEO of USA Track & Field, I must right the ship that Ms. Jones and other athletes nearly ran aground. I implore you, Mr. President: Please don't take the wind out of our sails.”
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
