Comments on: Were you persuaded by Marion Jones?

By: adhdbehaviorwoman

adhdbehaviorwoman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:23:21 +0000

She sounded contrite enough to me, as a student of behavior in children all my life as a teacher, the first thing you do to rectify bad behavior is to get the child to own the fact they did wrong, and she has at least done that. I agree with others here that it it only the first step, and it doesnt much matter if she was found out or not it is what she does from here on in. Like helping others not to go down the same path. As has been said elsewhere she is human and “let those without sin cast the first stone” etc.

By: S. White

S. White — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:51:21 +0000

I am tired of hearing about the things that Marion Jones did. Is she the only one in this country that has done anything wrong. I still consider her to be a great athelete. I think no less of her because of the problems and prison time she did. She did no more than anyone else. The only difference in what we all do is that she happens to be in the public eye. I am sick and tired of reading about how bad Marion Jones is, how she lied and cheated and to be honest I have not read any of it, do not read the news about her or what happened. I really don’t care. I think of her before all this happened. Which one of us has never made a mistake or told a white lie. Lets let Marion move past all this. She is only human. My gosh, do we make her suffer for this forever. I’m sure she has learned from her mistakes. We all make them. I’m sure she is a good mother and this does not make her less of a mom than anyone else. So lets forget about the mistakes that Marion Jones made and let her rebuild her life and move forward. God forgives her and I don’t think what anyone else feels is important. Don’t judge unless you are perfect. I don’t really care what she did wrong. Marion you’re still a #1 in my book.

By: skb

skb — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:01:17 +0000

‘my GOD given ability’ those were her exact words - wow!
Her behavior then and now will always be questionable…I guess we understand why are children turn into liars, cheaters, etc. They’re only mimicking us…a Great lesson for the world…

By: Samuel Gomez

Samuel Gomez — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:04:54 +0000

Marion jones was a good runner but she made a bad decision to take steroids. I think God forgave her, if she really meant it. Now she has to move on and seek God for guidance in her life. A good example for her to follow is king David. When he made a bad decision he cried out to God and he was forgiven. Also David was after Gods own Heart.

By: Lev

Lev — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:58:23 +0000

anger nor was I embarrassed for Jeff to question my arrogance. Having known Marion personally, I am and continue to be personally / professionally affected by her behavior.

By: Jeffrey Long

Jeffrey Long — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:21:20 +0000

To counter Lisa’s defense, Marion Jones IS a bad human being — at least in this instance — not only for the shame she brought upon herself, her country and her sport, but for the impact her cheating had on all the honest competitors (well, most of them anyway) around her. They’ll NEVER get a chance again to win a gold medal. Their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was stolen and sabotaged by an epic cheater who then had the audacity to deny — vehemently for years — any and all accusations.
Like Mike said, she’s apologizing for getting painted into a corner. Even with her speed, Marion Jones could no longer run away from the truth. Taking steroids is selfish, done for personal gain and glory, but the damage goes far beyond the user. Even if she apologizes to each and every one of her competitors, it will never restore what she took away from them…

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:55:02 +0000

I took a quick break from work to watch the video of Jones’ apology, and it seemed a little bit on the dramatic side. But I believe she’s dealing with this the best way she knows how, and I’m sure she’s paying for her actions. She showed remorse. She said she’s going to do what she can to ensure that her lessons learned are passed on to others. Remember that she has to live with this for the rest of her life. She doesn’t need us to judge her. She’s a person with feelings and flaws just like the rest of us. I am inclined to cut her some slack and wait to see what good comes from this situation.

And now, back to white paper writing…

By: Dr. Gym

Dr. Gym — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:31:41 +0000

For Jeff !

Artless implications…emptional contempt…naked truth…emprical evidence…ignorant rhetoric…comical attempts…! Jeff, why so angry. It was a question…Who will think critically ? If you are sick and tired now of the behavior of others, and in particular - “Athlete Behavior….” Take a deep breath Jeff -for it’s going to take awhile…review the history. There is a calming affect to all this. Keep thinking, keep writing, keep perspective…I agree more than you know. Anger like arrogance never wins the day. And as profound as you may be at waxing a metaphor - “The facts in this case couldn’t be more clear!” To wit…”That which gathers at the surface may not always expose a mantle of substance!”

For Elissa;

It is not an offense to confront one’s (Jeffs’) anger nor was I embarrassed for Jeff to question my arrogance. Having known Marion personally, I am and continue to be personally / professionally affected by her behavior.

For Michael;

Just perhaps…Just perhaps Marion Jones, aside from being indicted, prosecuted, and convicted…Perhaps that same little girl who walked up to me many years ago after just winning her fifth and final event at the National Junior Track and Field Championships…to embarrassed to smile, obviously humbled by the attention - and when, after being complimented for her performances replied: “Thank You Sir… I sure would like to make the Olympics some day…” To which I replied: “Oh! young lady, I think there’s a darn good chance of that!” She ran away smiling! Just perhaps there is genuine remorse…and just perhaps she herself could not live with such a behavior any longer.

By: Sean Romanoff

Sean Romanoff — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:21:31 +0000

Marion Jones seemed truly remorseful, which makes her very different from Barry Bonds. But that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be both punished and admonished.

She should be punished because she broke the rules of her sport, and she broke the law by taking steroids and then again by lying about it. She should be admonished because she perpetrated a fraud upon the public and eagerly accepted the accolades and money that she reaped from that fraud.

The idea that no one can say she did the wrong thing is just wrong-headed. Time will tell if she can behave with the same class she attributes to the rest of her family. As for now, one tearful statement does not clear the slate — not by a long shot.

I wish her luck as she tries to move forward.

By: Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:14:51 +0000

Cut the psycho-babble Elissa. There are millions who, like me, are sick and tired of the excuses made for the behavior of people like Jones.

Enough is enough. When we stop hearing and reading about how they ‘just made a mistake’ that was carried on for seven years, we’ll stop too.

Actions have consequences, and we are all judged by what we do, far more than what we say. The facts in this case couldn’t be more clear.

Again though, this is what people do when they don’t have a viable argument - they attack the other side through questions with false premises, i.e. why’re you angry?

Make the case for Jones - which you can’t - don’t come after me for laying out the facts as they are - according to Jones herself.

A thief who says they’re sorry on tape is no less a thief when they’re done talking.