Alberto Salazar has been unable to coach while his appeal with USADA is pendingGETTY IMAGES
Nike announced that it "will be shuttering" its Oregon Project track program, less than two weeks after USADA handed down a four-year ban to coach Alberto Salazar for "trafficking banned, performance-enhancing drugs to its athletes," according to Christa Sgobba of RUNNER'S WORLD. Nike Chair, President & CEO Mark Parker in a statement said that although the USADA panel "found no 'orchestrated doping' or evidence that performance-enhancing drugs have ever been used on Oregon Project athletes, Salazar has been unable to coach while his appeal is pending." Parker added that Nike will be "helping its athletes during the transition as 'they choose the coaching set up that is right for them.'" Nike launched the Oregon Project in '01 with the "stated goal of making American distance runners competitive again." Runners Dathan Ritzenhein and Kara Goucher were "two key whistleblowers in the case against Salazar." To date, no Oregon Project athletes have "tested positive" for a banned PED (RUNNERSWORLD.com, 10/11). CBS’ Anthony Mason noted Nike “will continue to support" Salazar in his appeal, but shutting down the Oregon Project is a "big deal" (“CBS This Morning,” 10/11).
TIMING IS KEY: In N.Y., Matthew Futterman notes the decision to close the Oregon Project on Thursday "came on the eve of the elite athlete news conferences for the Chicago Marathon." U.S. runners Galen Rupp, Jordan Hasay and the U.K.'s Mo Farah are "scheduled to participate in the race and were going to have to face public questioning for the first time since the Salazar ban about their training and their former coach, questions that would surely follow them as long as the Oregon Project remained in operation" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/11).
