I am not sure we realize how bad this will be for swimming and US swimming.
This will change how everybody looks at the US team from now on. The circumstances do not matter to the casual sports fan - they will only remember "US swimmer caught".
The medal winners will lose a lot of money on endorsements - USA swimming was the "clean" sport, the poster child of how to do it right. Not any more - any advertiser will now look at swimmers differently.
What about US trials - this will change how quickly the testing has to come back and how some 3rd place finisher may train after trials.
US Swimming - they have already screwed this up on 10 different levels. No press conference, 3 weeks after the fact, some web forum starts leaking the story, coaches and swimmers at the Olympic training camp know and they expect to keep this quiet ? Amateurs
Marion Jones was convicted of lying to federal investigators, thereby significantly thwarting two investigations, and of participating in a check-fraud scheme. She was incarcerated on March 6 for 6 mos., so should be due for release around September 6. These are not the types of crimes that get ppl out of jail early or their sentence commuted.
Following is from one of several similar news reports at the time (my bold):
"The former Olympic track gold medalist was sentenced to six months in prison Friday for lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs and her role in a check-fraud scam.
... U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas, who sentenced her ...
said Jones damaged two federal investigations with lies that came years apart, so "I don't think the criminal conduct can be written off as a momentary lapse of judgment or a one-time mistake, but instead a repetition of an attempt to break the law."
The check-fraud scheme was a major crime and the wide use of steroids "affects the integrity of athletic competition," he said. "
Marion Jones was convicted of lying to federal investigators, thereby significantly thwarting two investigations, and of participating in a check-fraud scheme. She was incarcerated on March 6 for 6 mos., so should be due for release around September 6. These are not the types of crimes that get ppl out of jail early or their sentence commuted.
Following is from one of several similar news reports at the time (my bold):
"The former Olympic track gold medalist was sentenced to six months in prison Friday for lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs and her role in a check-fraud scam.
... U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas, who sentenced her ...
said Jones damaged two federal investigations with lies that came years apart, so "I don't think the criminal conduct can be written off as a momentary lapse of judgment or a one-time mistake, but instead a repetition of an attempt to break the law."
The check-fraud scheme was a major crime and the wide use of steroids "affects the integrity of athletic competition," he said. "
