The Marion Jones disgrace

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas sent a message to professional athletes when he imposed the maximum sentence on Olympic champion Marion Jones last Friday. Jones was sentenced to the maximum six months in prison for lying about using steroids and for her role in a check-fraud scheme. She pleaded for lenience out of concern for her two young children, including an infant she's still nursing. "Athletes serve as role models," said the judge. "In our society athletes have an elevated status, they entertain and they inspire us."

In addition Jones was given two years' probation and was sentenced to 800 hours of community service. Despite previous denials that she had ever used performance-enhancing drugs, last October Jones finally admitted she had used a steroid called "the clear" from September 2000 to July 2001. Jones won three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics: golds in the 100- and 200-meter runs, and in the 1600-meter relay, and bronzes in the long jump and 400-meter relay. She returned those medals before the International Olympic Committee asked her to do so.


After pleading guilty last year, Jones broke down, saying, "It's with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust. I have been dishonest and you have every right to be angry with me. I have let my family down, I have let my country down, and I have let myself down."


Jones was devastated by the sentence. "As everyone can imagine, I'm very disappointed today. But as I stood in front of all of you for years in victory, I stand in front of you today. I stand for what is right. I respect the judge's order, and I truly hope that people will learn from my mistakes."


In a free country it should be up to each individual to decide what to put into his or her own body, but when it comes to athletics, ingesting steroids gives an unfair edge and is simply cheating.