Former Olympic sprinter, Marion Jones, talked about her experience on steroid in a lecture held in Wharton Sports Business Initiative series on race at the University of Pennsylvania. She told the public how steroids had destroyed everything she worked for, and how it changed her life.

Marion Jones was found guilty of lying to the federal officers on using prohibited drugs like the anabolic steroids. She was convicted and sentenced to be imprisonment for six months in Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. She confessed that her poor choices and reactions had ruined all her achievements. She was obliged to return all her medals, two gold and three bronze that she won in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Marion used to be part of the North Carolina’s women’s basketball team before she concentrated on her track career.

From Philadelphia Daily News:

The former Olympic sprinter, who pleaded guilty in October 2007 to lying to federal investigators about taking performance-enhancing substances, spoke for nearly 30 minutes about her career as one of the country’s first millionaire black female athletes.

Steroids were part of the reason she was imprisoned at the Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, for 6 months. She was released in September.

While Jones didn’t touch on her experience in jail, she knows that she let down fans and supporters as a role model for up-and-coming female athletes.

Jones admitted that she disappointed and dismayed her fans and followers because she did not live up to the standards and expectation of a good role model. She also recalled how the Title IX legislation which was enacted 37 years ago had brought equal opportunities for her and to the rest of the female athletes.

Marion Jones promised to share her story in order to keep and live the opportunities that once she had.

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, athletes, Marion Jones, steroid

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