Report says Jones used steroids for two years before 2000 Games
ESPN.com news services

Updated: October 4, 2007, 5:25 PM ET
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Marion Jones, in a letter she sent to close family and friends, says she used steroids prior to the 2000 Olympic Games and will plead guilty to two counts of lying to federal agents, according to The Washington Post.

Jones' plea will be to two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use and an unrelated financial matter, according to The Post.

In the letter, which The Post says was read to it by "a person who had been given a copy of it," says Jones used "the clear" -- also known as the steroid THG -- for two years starting in 1999. The letter was confirmed, The Post said, by a "person familiar with Jones' legal situation who requested anonymity."

Jones won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

According to The Post, Jones said former coach Trevor Graham told her she was taking flaxseed oil and that she should put two drops under her tongue. Graham declined comment when reached by The Post by telephone.

Previously, Jones had denied using steroids.

"I want to apologize for all of this," she said, according to The Post, which cited a person reading the letter. "I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways."

Jones said she faces six months in jail. Federal sentencing guidelines call for a maximum of five years in prison for one count of lying to federal agents, The Post said.

Jones, in her letter, wrote that she planned to fly from her home in Austin, Texas, to New York to enter her plea on Friday.

Jones recently married Obadele Thompson, a former world class sprinter. The Post reached Thompson at the couple's home in Austin. When asked for a response, he said: "...the process has to go through before you can make any comments ... I'm sure at the appropriate time, all necessary comments will be made."

The Post said Thompson did not dispute the contents of the letter, which was read to him over the phone.

In the letter, according to The Post, Jones wrote that: "Red flags should have been raised when he told me not to tell anyone about" the supplement program.

Graham was indicted by a federal grand jury in November in the BALCO investigation in San Francisco. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in November.

Jones was quested in 2003 by BALCO agents. She said she lied. She also said she led about a $25,000 check given to her by Tim Montgomery, who is the father of Jones' son. Montgomery pleaded guilty in a bank fraud and money-laundering scheme earlier this year.


"Once again, I panicked," she wrote, according to The Post. "I did not want my name associated with this mess. I wanted to stay as far away as possible."

It's not too surprising. She didn't look natural.

oh good grief....

What a hot mess...

I'm always suspious of track runners who come out of no where 2 become champions overnight.

Damn...

Graycap23 said:

Yep, just like FloJo(R.I.P.)

uPtoWnNY said:

co-sign.....

Whatever money she earned while being a sprinter was burned through and now she lied and faces serious jail time? It's a sad fall from grace, her records from that time should be wiped out if The Olympics wants to remain honest.

Is anything on the up and up?

Graycap23 said:

That's what I'm sayin', wtf is REAL anymore w/ folks?? Sad...

This is the pic they posted on MSN - COLD!





They always seem to choose the expression that fits the crime, don't they?

CalhounSq said:

damn....I always thought she was a cutie.

Graycap23 said:

She's cute, but in this pic she looks like she's saying, "SO??!! Yea, I was doping fool!" Cold...

CalhounSq said:

lol.....true.

i wonder what really made her come forth?

NDRU said:

No, she looked natural, the problem was, she was destroying her competition by a good 2 feet or so and in the sprint world that's like 10 yards in a football game as a player tops out over his closest pursuer. Now Flo-Jo = That broad look unnatural and I'm convinced she was roids. Her body changed so much in just over a year that it was way too obvious.

Oh well. Marion made this bed, so I don't feel for her. She knew what she was getting into and her association with her 1st hubby (roids), her 2nd hubby (roids), and her coach at the same time of the 2nd hubby (roids) pretty much made her guilty by association.

Graycap23 said:

But that was just it, she had been a helluva tracker BEFORE she got on the juice.

sweet said:

It was probably gonna get leaked or revealed anyway, so this is damage control on her part.

MuthaFunka said:

But she was not blowing people off the track.

Graycap23 said:

Right, but she was winning, so she didn't come out of nowhere, she just started blowing people out out of nowhere.

MuthaFunka said:

I dig.

Graycap23 said:

Now, Flo-Jo? - CAME OUT OF NOWHERE.

MuthaFunka said:

that's the sad part (in terms of competition) of steroids, it turns a close race into a blowout.

Mach said:

That body right there is about right for a professional female sprinter.

It's when the jawline starts to spread and the thighs get huge (Flo-Jo) that you have to start being suspicious.

I am really disappointed.

I mean, this stinks. All those years of wanting to believe her.

sweet said:

Right. She'd have continued to live a lie if she could have. No doubt.

It's no surprise, really.

Next you'll tell me Carl Lewis was gay or something.