Despite the drug controversy surrounding her husband,
U.S. shotputter C.J. Hunter, Marion Jones "seemed relaxed
and even spirited" yesterday during the first round of her
200-meter race, according to Amy Shipley of the WASHINGTON
POST. When her name was announced, "she raised her arms
[and] grinned widely" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/27). After news
hit Sydney that Hunter had failed drug tests over the
summer, the USOC changed its policy and took away his
athlete credential for the Games, giving him tickets so he
can watch his wife compete. IOC VP Dick Pound: "He
certainly should not be an accredited athlete. What the
USOC wishes to do with someone who is suspended for doping,
it's up to them. But it's an opportunity for them to
indicate what their real stance is on doping in sport"
(Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 9/27). IOC VP Jacques Rogge: "If
this man has committed a doping offense, it's moral and
ethical to take away the accreditation and say, 'sir, you
have no place here'" (N.Y. POST, 9/27). In Orlando, David
Whitley, on Jones: "NBC's Designated Diva is being dragged
into the pharmaceutical muck" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/27).
A CASE AGAINST THE U.S.: In Montreal, Jack Todd: "Had
U.S. officials immediately acknowledged Hunter's positive
tests and suspended him last summer, they could have
minimized the effect on Jones. By refusing to come clean
... they created a situation in which this story broke at
the worst possible time" (Montreal GAZETTE, 9/27). In N.Y.,
Jere Longman writes the IOC made the Hunter case "a
political issue and sent a harsh message to the United
States Olympic and track officials: Don't complain about the
rest of the world until you address your own problems."
USATF CEO Craig Masback: "The notion that we are the
whipping boy of the Olympic Games and the drug-testing
movement is absurd" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/27). Masback was
interviewed on NBC's "Today" by Matt Lauer. Lauer: "You
came in here with the biggest story of the Olympics, Marion
Jones. ... But this week has not been a good week. ... How
much has this hurt the sport of track and field?" Masback:
"It definitely hurts. ... I'm proud of what we do in drug-
testing in the sport of track and field. We tested before
anyone else did." Lauer then continued to press Masback
about when he found out that Hunter had failed his drug
tests over the summer, but Masback refused to discuss
specifics of the Hunter tests (NBC, 9/27). NEWSDAY's
Johnette Howard writes that it is "incumbent upon the USOC
and U.S. Track and Field to answer the latest cover-up
charges truthfully and completely" (NEWSDAY, 9/27).
INT'L AFFAIRS: On ESPN.com, Mark Kreidler wrote, "The
international athletic community is sick of American
arrogance on the drug issue" (ESPN.com, 9/26). In Phoenix,
Dan Bickley writes the Hunter "fiasco has fueled a long-held
IOC belief that the U.S. protects its drug-filled athletes
in order to protect its portfolio of corporate sponsors"
(ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/27). In Detroit, Mitch Albom calls the
situation a "mess. We have foreign officials accusing us of
covering up our drug cheats. We have people thinking Jones
should somehow be diminished by her mere marriage to Hunter"
(DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/27). Also in Detroit, Bob Wojnowski
writes the Games have "officially turned into a piddling
match, with angry charges about Americans' piety [and]
pointed questions about drug-testing procedures" (DETROIT
NEWS, 9/27). A CHICAGO SUN-TIMES editorial states, "The
Olympics appear to have a new event -- mudslinging" (9/27).
THE GLORY OF THE GAMES LOST? In Chicago, Philip Hersh
writes that the Hunter case "is the latest example of how
trying to make sport clean has been reduced to the question
of whose laundry is dirtiest." Pound: "Everybody is
outfumbling each other for the check on this one." Hersh
adds that doping "has created an atmosphere in which the
credibility of [event] results is in doubt" (CHICAGO
TRIBUNE, 9/27). During the intro to NBC's "Nightly News,"
Tom Brokaw asked, "Can top athletes really win if they don't
use drugs?" Brokaw: "The glory of these Games is being
diminished by Olympians busted for using performance-
enhancing drugs and banned substances" (NBC, 9/26). USA
TODAY's Christine Brennan: "One more positive drug test and
I wonder how many millions of people around the world will
switch off their [TV] sets for good" (USA TODAY, 9/27).