Editing Marion Jones (section)

==Use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs==
[[File:Marion Jones Sydney 2000.JPEG|thumb|Jones at the [[2000 Summer Olympics]], where she used performance-enhancing drugs]]
Throughout most of her athletic career including two Olympiads and several championship meets, Jones had been accused, either directly or by implication, of taking performance-enhancing drugs. These accusations began in high school in the early 1990s, when she missed a random drug test and was consequently banned for four years from track and field competition. Jones, a minor, claimed that she never received the letter notifying her of the required test; and attorney [[Johnnie Cochran]] successfully got the four-year ban overturned.<ref name="fastest woman"/> Jones tended to train with both coaches and athletes who themselves were dogged by rumors and accusations surrounding performance-enhancing drugs. And until 2007, Jones denied, in almost every way possible and in almost any venue where the question arose, being involved with performance enhancers. She frequently said that she had never tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.

===BALCO investigation===
On December 3, 2004, [[Victor Conte]], the founder of [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO]], appeared in an interview with [[Martin Bashir]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]''. In the interview, Conte told a national audience that he had personally given Jones four different illegal performance-enhancing drugs before, during, and after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In the course of investigative research, San Francisco-based reporters [[Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada]] reported Jones had received banned drugs from BALCO, citing documentary evidence and testimony from Jones's ex-husband C.J. Hunter, who claims to have seen Jones inject herself in the stomach with the steroids.<ref name="Fainaru-Wada2006">{{cite book |last1=Fainaru-Wada |first1=M. |last2=Williams |first2=L. |title=Game of Shadows |url=https://archive.org/details/targetunderweara00aden |url-access=registration |publisher=Gotham Books |year=2006 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/targetunderweara00aden/page/234 234–235]}}</ref>

According to Hunter's 2004 testimony before a federal grand jury, Jones's use of banned drugs began well before Sydney.<ref name="Williams20060819">{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Lance |date=August 19, 2006 |title=Sprinter Jones failed drug test |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/19/MNGBGKLP8H1.DTL&hw=marion+jones&sn=003&sc=976 |access-date=2008-08-04 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> Hunter told the investigators that Jones first obtained EPO ([[erythropoietin]]) from Graham, who Hunter said had a Mexican connection for the drug. Later, Hunter said, Graham met Conte, who began providing the coach with BALCO "nutritional supplements", which were actually an experimental class of "designer" steroids said to be undetectable by drug screening procedures available at the time. Graham then distributed the performance enhancers to Jones and other Sprint Capitol athletes. Subsequently, Hunter told federal agents Jones began receiving drugs directly from Conte.

Jones had never failed a drug test using the then-existing testing procedures, and insufficient evidence was found to bring charges regarding other untested performance-enhancing drugs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mackay |first=Duncan |date=2006-08-19 |title=Only surprise about Jones drugs bust was that was she got caught |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/aug/20/athletics.comment |access-date=2024-08-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===2006 EPO tests===
''[[The Washington Post]]'', citing unidentified sources with knowledge of drug results from the [[USA Track and Field]] Championships in [[Indianapolis]], reported that on June 23, 2006, an "A" sample of Marion Jones's urine tested positive for [[erythropoietin]] (EPO), a banned performance enhancer. Jones withdrew from the [[Weltklasse Zürich|Weltklasse Golden League]] meet in Switzerland, citing "personal reasons", and once more denied using performance-enhancing drugs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-08-18 |title=Jones pulls out of Golden League Meet at last minute |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/news/story?id=2553442 |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref> She retained lawyer [[Howard Jacobs]], who had represented many athletes in doping cases, including [[Tim Montgomery]] and cyclist [[Floyd Landis]]. On September 6, 2006, Jones's lawyers announced that her "B" sample had tested negative, which cleared her from the doping allegations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last1=Zinser |first1=Lynn |last2=Schmidt |first2=Michael S. |name-list-style=and |date=2007-10-06 |title=Jones Admits to Doping and Enters Guilty Plea |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/sports/othersports/06balco.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Admission of lying during BALCO investigation===
On October 5, 2007, Jones admitted to lying to federal agents under oath about her steroids use prior to the [[2000 Summer Olympics]] and pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (in [[White Plains, New York|White Plains]]).<ref name="NYT20071005"/> She confessed to Judge [[Kenneth M. Karas]] that she had made false statements regarding the BALCO and a check-fraud case. She was released on her own recognizance but was required to surrender both her U.S. and Belizean passports, pending sentencing in January. Although a maximum sentence of five years could be imposed, the prosecution recommended no more than six months as part of Jones's [[plea bargain]].<ref name=":1"/>

After her admission, Jones held a press conference on the same day, where she publicly admitted to using steroids before the Olympics and acknowledged that she had, in fact, lied when she previously denied steroid use in statements to the press, to various sports agencies, and to two grand juries. One was impaneled to investigate the BALCO "designer steroid" ring, and the other was impaneled to investigate a check fraud ring involving many of the same parties from the BALCO case. As a result of these admissions, Jones accepted a two-year suspension from track and field competition issued by USADA and announced her retirement from track and field.<ref name="NYT20071005">{{cite news |access-date=2007-10-05 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/sports/othersports/05cnd-balco.html?hp=&pagewanted=print |title=Jones Pleads Guilty to Lying About Drugs |first1=Michael S. |last1=Schmidt |first2=Lynn |last2=Zinser |date=October 5, 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> She broke down into tears during the press conference as she apologized for her actions, saying: "And so it is with a great amount of shame, that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust... and you have the right to be angry with me. I have let them down. I have let my country down. And I have let myself down."<ref name="NYT20071006">{{cite news |last1=Zinser |first1=Lynn |last2=Schmidt |first2=Michael S. |date=October 6, 2007 |title=Jones Admits to Doping and Enters Guilty Plea |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=D1}}</ref>

USADA stated that their sanction "also requires disqualification of all her competitive results obtained after September 1, 2000, and forfeiture of all medals, results, points and prizes". On January 11, 2008, Jones was sentenced to six months in jail.<ref name="NYT20071005"/> She began her sentence on March 7, 2008,<ref name="AFP20080307">{{cite news |access-date=2008-07-30 |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j45h2TXIPAcsLvMwWvwlDUeXuKVQ |title=Disgraced sprinter Jones reports to jail |date=March 7, 2008 |work=AFP |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621041311/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j45h2TXIPAcsLvMwWvwlDUeXuKVQ |archive-date=June 21, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and was released on September 5, 2008.<ref name="Released">{{cite news |date=September 5, 2008 |title=Marion Jones released from Texas federal prison |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/news/story?id=3570875 |access-date=October 11, 2024 |publisher=ESPN |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

In the BALCO case, she had denied to federal agents her use of the steroid [[tetrahydrogestrinone]], known as "The Clear", or "THG", from 1999, but claimed she was given the impression she was taking a [[flaxseed oil]] supplement for two years while coach Trevor Graham supplied her with the substance. In a published letter in October 2007, Jones said that she had used the substance that was given to her described as flaxseed oil, which was later confirmed to be "The Clear" until she stopped training with Graham at the end of 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-10-04 |title=Olympics Star Marion Jones Admits Doping - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/olympics-star-marion-jones-admits-doping/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-10-05 |title=Marion Jones's letter to friends and family |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/marion-joness-letter-to-friends-and-family-20071005-gdra43.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> She said she lied when federal agents questioned her in 2003 because she panicked when they presented her with a sample of "The Clear".<ref name="Shipley2007">{{cite news |last=Shipley |first=Amy |title=Marion Jones Admits to Steroid Use |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 5, 2007 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/04/AR2007100401666_pf.html}}</ref>

===U.S. Olympic Committee demands return of Olympic medals===
[[Peter Ueberroth]], chairman of the [[U.S. Olympic Committee]], reacted to the news of Jones's confession and guilty plea on [[perjury]] charges by issuing a statement calling on Jones to "immediately step forward and return the Olympic medals she won while competing in violation of the rules". Ueberroth added that her admission was "long overdue and underscores the shame and dishonor that are inherent with cheating." [[IAAF]] president [[Lamine Diack]] said in a statement: "Marion Jones will be remembered as one of the biggest frauds in sporting history."<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=IAAF decries Jones's tainted legacy |date=October 8, 2007}}</ref>

On October 8, 2007, a source confirmed that Marion Jones surrendered her five medals from the [[2000 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="JonesReturnsMedals"/> On the same day, Ueberroth said that all the relay medals should be returned,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/sports/othersports/13jones.html?_r=1&ref=othersports&pagewanted=print |title=Jones's Teammate Braces for Worst |agency=Associated Press |date=October 13, 2007 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and on April 10, 2008, the IOC voted to strip Jones's relay teammates of their medals as well,<ref>{{cite web |date=April 10, 2008 |title=IOC votes to strip Jones's teammates of medals from 2000 Games |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/news/story?id=3339267 |access-date=October 11, 2024 |publisher=ESPN |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> although this decision would successfully be appealed by seven of Jones's teammates and overturned in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |date=2010-07-16 |others=Contributed by Rachel Cohen, Pat Graham and Paul Weber |title=US relay runners win Olympic medals appeal |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=5385884 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223234741/http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=5385884 |archive-date=February 23, 2014 |access-date=October 11, 2024 |publisher=ESPN}}</ref>

===Formal IOC disqualification===
On December 12, 2007, the IOC formally stripped Jones of all five Olympic medals dating back to September 2000, and banned her from attending the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in any capacity.<ref name="IOC Strips">{{cite news |url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22170098/ |title=IOC strips Jones of all 5 Olympic medals |date=December 12, 2007 |agency=Associated Press |work=MSNBC.com |access-date=March 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218091719/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22170098/ |archive-date=February 18, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The IOC action also officially disqualified Jones from her fifth-place finish in the long jump at the [[2004 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="IOC Strips"/>

On October 28, 2008, Jones was interviewed by [[Oprah Winfrey]] and stated that she would have won gold at the [[Sydney Olympics]] without the drugs that led to her disgrace.<ref>{{YouTube|id=3ewja4q0z7s|title=Oprah Interviews Marion Jones}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Marion Jones tells Oprah Winfrey: I'd have won without the drugs |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 30, 2008|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/3280847/Marion-Jones-tells-Oprah-I-never-knowingly-took-performance-enhancing-drugs-Athletics.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/3280847/Marion-Jones-tells-Oprah-I-never-knowingly-took-performance-enhancing-drugs-Athletics.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Financial troubles===
Seven years after winning a women's record five Olympic track and field medals and receiving multimillion-dollar endorsement deals, Jones was broke.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cbs.sportsline.com/worldsports/story/10236098 |title=Former Olympian, track millionaire Jones now broke |work=CBS Sports |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629023321/http://cbs.sportsline.com/worldsports/story/10236098 |archive-date=June 29, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.billsbills.com/blog/north-carolina-star-athlete-bankruptcy-how-marion-jones-lost-it-all | title=North Carolina Star Athlete in Bankruptcy - How Marion Jones Lost It All - John T. Orcutt - Celebrity Money Problems Relieved by Chapter 7 }}</ref> According to the Associated Press, Jones was heavily in debt and fighting off court judgments, according to court records reviewed by the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. In 2006, a bank foreclosed on her $2.5 million mansion in [[Apex, North Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=2007-06-24 |title=Jones Says She's in Financial Debt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/sports/othersports/24sportsbriefs-jones.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In her prime, Jones was one of track's first female sports millionaires, typically earning between $70,000 and $80,000 a race, plus at least another $1 million from race bonuses and endorsement deals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-06-25 |title=Court documents show Marion Jones almost broke |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/news/story?id=2915341 |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Involvement in check fraud===
In July 2006, Jones was linked to a [[check fraud|check-counterfeiting scheme]] that led to criminal charges against her coach and former boyfriend Montgomery.<ref name="BankRecords"/> Documents showed that a $25,000 check made out to Jones was deposited in her bank account as part of the alleged multimillion-dollar scheme. Prosecutors alleged that funds were sent to Jones's track coach, 1976 Olympic gold medalist [[Steve Riddick]], in [[Virginia]], then funneled back to New York through a network of "friends, relatives and associates."<ref name="BankRecords">{{cite news|url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/13848653/|title=Bank records link Marion Jones to money scam|date=July 15, 2006|agency=Associated Press|work=NBC Sports|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423110925/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/13848653/|archive-date=April 23, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Riddick was arrested in February on [[money-laundering]] charges. According to the indictment and subsequent documents filed with the court, the link to Jones was made through one of Riddick's business partners, Nathaniel Alexander.

On October 5, 2007, Jones pleaded guilty to making false statements to IRS Special Agent [[Jeff Novitzky]] leading the ongoing BALCO investigation in California. Jones claimed she had never taken performance-enhancing drugs. "That was a lie, your honor", she said from the defense table.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-10-05 |title=Marion Jones Pleads Guilty To Doping - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marion-jones-pleads-guilty-to-doping/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The federal government, through grand juries, had been investigating steroid abuse since 2003.

Jones also pleaded guilty to making false statements about her knowledge of a check-cashing scheme to New York U.S. [[Department of Homeland Security]] Special Agent Erik Rosenblatt, who has been leading a broad financial investigation that has already convicted Montgomery, sports agent Charles Wells, and her coach, Steve Riddick.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former Olympian Jones sentenced to six months |url=https://www.recordonline.com/story/sports/2008/01/12/former-olympian-jones-sentenced-to/52670376007/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Times Herald-Record |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Criminal sentencing===
[[File:CarswellFMCFortWorthTX.jpg|thumb|[[Federal Medical Center, Carswell]], where Jones was imprisoned]]
Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge [[Kenneth Karas]] that any sentence between probation and six months' imprisonment would be fair (with the maximum penalty being five years in prison); Karas responded by seeking advice as to whether he could go beyond the six-month sentence. Meanwhile, Jones's lawyers asked that her penalty be limited to probation and community service, arguing, in part, that she had been punished enough by apologizing publicly, retiring from track and field, and relinquishing her five Olympic medals.

On January 11, 2008, Karas sentenced Jones to six months in jail for her involvement in the check fraud case and her use of performance-enhancing drugs.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Michael S. |last2=Wilson |first2=Duff |name-list-style=and |date=2008-01-12 |title=Marion Jones Sentenced to Six Months in Prison |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/sports/othersports/11cnd-jones.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> During the sentencing hearing, the judge admonished her, saying that she knew what she was doing and would be punished accordingly.<ref name="Sentenced">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7182969.stm|title=Six-month jail sentence for Jones|date=January 11, 2008|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2008-01-11}}</ref> "The offenses here are serious. They each involve lies made three years apart", Karas said, adding that Jones's actions were "not a one-off mistake...but a repetition in an attempt to break the law."<ref name="Sentenced"/>

Jones was ordered to surrender on March 15, 2008. She reported four days early, on March 11, at the [[Federal Medical Center, Carswell]] prison in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]] and was assigned [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] register no. 84868–054.<ref name="AFP20080307"/> She was released from prison on September 5, 2008.<ref name="Released"/>