Athletes Fallen From Grace

I guess by now some of you may have heard about the Olympic Athlete Marion Jones admitting she took steroids and admited lieing to the FBI about doing so, etc., etc., etc.

In her statement, which I saw on the news, she was tearfully admitting what she had done, apologizing for it in a way, and asking people to forgive her.

The news reports are saying that she will probably be stripped of the several Olympic Gold Medals that she won, and also she could face as much as ten years in prison for lieing to the FBI about not taking the steroids.

It sounds like a case of another much idolized athlete who has fallen from grace and hit the shores of reality once again. It's sad, I think. Not just for the athletes, but also for the many fans (especially the kids) who look up to these people and hold them as role models and inspirations, etc. in every day life.

Michael Vick also comes to mind as another athlete recently fallen from grace, so to speak, with all of the accusations, etc., of dog fighting, etc.

Pete Rose and the accusations that he bet on baseball years ago comes to mind in the baseball field as "fallen from grace", and there are countless others it seems, with more and more becoming known every day.

I think we as fans need to realize that these folks are not "gods" and are only human, and most of all, not to idolize them so much.

I hope Ms. Jones and Mr. Vick realize the error of their actions and that they have let a lot of people down, mainly themselves, and after whatever just punishment they receive, they may be able to get on the right track again.

Also, this steroid issue is getting almost as bad as the other drugs (marijuana, heroin, ecstacy,etc.) it seems, and needs to be gotten under control somehow.

The Wrestler who killed his wife and son, and then himself was presumed to be taking sterioids, too. For him, and his family who died, there will be no tomorrow, atleast on this earth.

Any Opinions or Comments on this topic thread or subject are welcome.

Any drugs have consequences when used. Even medicine, if someone was to overdose on it (I keep hearing things about teens abusing prescription drugs, meh). Though people have their own reasons for what they do, I don't think anything can be justified, really...unless someone needed to take something for a medical purpose, but even then there's so many things that are diagnosed as problems when sometimes it's something very minor.

In the case of Atheletes and steroids... It's very disappointing. As you said, kids look up to them as role models -- so what kinda example are they setting for the next generation?

Secret_Surfer wrote:

The Wrestler who killed his wife and son, and then himself was presumed to be taking sterioids, too. For him, and his family who died, there will be no tomorrow, atleast on this earth.

From what I heard, he was taking steroids and I guess he'd get angry pretty easily... Scary stuff, really.

I think the reason a lot of the steroid issues are coming out now is because drug testing has become more advanced. A couple of times I've heard of athletes, including this latest Olympic one, having taken certain drugs that didn't show up on the drug tests. It seems like some of them have been doing it for years, but are only now getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

I think it's a shame that these people are setting such a bad example, but they're only human themselves. They shouldn't be expected to be perfect. I'm not excusing their actions, but I feel that others shouldn't put them on too high of a pedestal.

News reports today say that Marion Jones has given back her Olympic Medals and will give back any other medals, trophies, prize winnings, etc., that she has accumulated in the last two years. Ouch!

Heard on the news yesterday that a judge has sentenced Ms. Jones to a term of 6 months in prison related to this steroid issue, etc. So sad that a once heroic athlete winds up this way.

I'll be honest...I'm kind of getting sick of hearing about it in the news. It strikes me as another one of those "sensational" types of news stories, like how the media tracks the exploits of people like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton a bit more aptly than they really should. It is sad what some of these athletes do to themselves, their fans, friends and family, and kind of ridiculous how far we elevate these people when they are human themselves, but I really think there's other things the media should be paying more attention to. I'm not saying it should be ignored, but it just seems overreported.