The Kansas City Star reports that KC native Passion Richardson, one of Marion Jones' sprint relay teammates, wants to hang on to those Sydney relay medals.
Passion Richardson, the runner from Kansas City, Kan., who ran on the United States’ 400-meter relay team with Marion Jones at the 2000 Olympic Games, said she isn’t happy that she might have to relinquish her bronze medal.
“I competed fairly, and I should not have to suffer the consequences for someone else’s bad decisions and choices,” Richardson said on the “Early Show” on CBS. “I’m not happy with the fact that my character is going to now come into question as to whether or not I was using steroids.”
Although Richardson was clean at the time, the medal is tainted by Jones' steroid/PED cheating. The IOC is likely to think so. And US Olympic Chairman Peter Ueberroth definitely thinks those medals are tainted.
After Jones’ admission that she had used steroids before and after the Olympics, Jones returned her medals to the U.S. Olympic Committee. Now the International Olympic Committee is considering whether to strip medals from the teammates who ran on the relay with her.
U.S. Olympic chairman Peter Ueberroth said Monday the relays were tainted because of Jones’ presence and all the medals should be returned.
Painful as it may be to return a medal, the fact of the matter is that Marion Jones cheated. The tainted 3rd place finish should be wiped off the books. Illicit drug use means an illicit race.
If all teammates of drug cheats suffered the same ignoble fate as the cheater there would be a huge deterrent against steroid/PED cheating. Cheating exists because the officials, the owners, the managers, the fans, and the teammates do not want to admit that drug-cheating taints the entire victory.
How many MLB players would think extremely hard if any honor that Jose Canseco's team achieved while Canseco occupied a roster spot simple vanished....if MLB wiped Canseco's and his team's records out.
The entire system is complicit in the drug-cheating if any results stay on the books when a drug cheater becomes exposed...(although there might not be many records left on the books).
Sorry, Passion, those results should be expunged and those medals returned.
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