Marion Jones - Use of Illicit Performance Enhancing Drugs

Use of Illicit Performance Enhancing Drugs

Throughout her entire athletic career—even in high school—Marion Jones had been accused, either outright or by implication, of taking performance enhancing drugs, a common allegation surrounding athletes involved in the sports under the "Track and Field" umbrella. Until 2007, Jones routinely denied—in almost every way possible and in almost any venue where the question arose—ever being involved with performance enhancers in any way, shape, or form. One of Jones's frequent statements in her own defense was that she had never tested positive for performance enhancing substances; in her autobiography, she blamed the 2002 breakup of her marriage to C.J. Hunter in part on the fact that Hunter had tested positive for steroids four times before the 2000 Olympics, tainting her own drug-free image. However, the rumors and accusations that started when Jones missed a random drug test in high school in the early 1990s (Jones claimed she never received the letter notifying her of the required test; attorney Johnnie Cochran successfully got the four-year ban from track and field competition, the penalty for missing a random drug test, overturned) continued to follow her through two Olympiads and several championship meets. Soon, a pattern of Jones choosing to train with both coaches and athletes who were also being dogged by rumors and accusations of performance enhancement drugs began to emerge.