Former track star officially makes her return to the world of sports
By: Taren Vaughan
Marion Jones is one of the most gifted female athletes of today. Her amazing athletic ability has been seen in several sports including basketball and track. She especially made her mark in track by winning a total of five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Unfortunately for Jones, her accomplishments at the Games are now frowned upon. In 2007, she confessed to lying about taking performance-enhancing drugs. Sounds like a familiar story? Well because it is one. There are a number of athletes out there who get caught up in steroid use. Some athletes knowingly do them while others have no idea that they are taking steroids. In Marion Jones’ case, she was aware of what she was doing and had to suffer the consequences of her actions. This incident involving Jones happened several years ago. It’s time for her to come back to doing what she loves best.
But is the sports world willing to give Marion another chance?
It appears that they will. In early March of this year, Marion Jones signed a contract with the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock. It is said that she will be with the Shock for at least one season but no further contract details have been announced. Although track is her forte, Jones is definitely no stranger to the game of basketball. While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jones played starting point guard for the women’s basketball team. She helped her team to win the 1994 national championship title. She was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury but never played for them, turning her focus towards track instead.
So it is safe to say that Marion Jones is making a comeback from what she has had to endure over the past couple of years. I do agree that she was wrong for lying about her use of steroids. And she should have been stripped of her medals as punishment. She ran against other athletes who used their natural strength and abilities to compete in the events.
But what people must understand is that she is human. And as human beings, we do make bad choices sometimes. Because of the fact that athletes are such high profile individuals, we forget that they are not perfect. It is obvious that Marion Jones learned from her mistake and is now ready to go back to what she loves to do. And that is being a competitive athlete.