She also admitted lying about her knowledge of the involvement of Olympic sprinter Tim Montgomery, the father of her older son, in a scheme to cash millions of dollars worth of stolen or forged checks. Montgomery and several others have been convicted in that scam.
Karas said he was still not sure Jones was telling the truth when she said she was unaware she had been taking steroids until she stopped. An athlete of her caliber knows “the razor-thin difference” between being good and being great, and she would have noticed right away, he suggested.
The use of performance-enhancing drugs “sends all the wrong messages to all who follow the athlete’s every move,” Karas said. “Athletes in society have an elevated status. They entertain, they inspire and perhaps most important they serve as role models.”
BALCO founder Victor Conte, who served four months in prison after pleading guilty to operating a steroids distribution ring, said Jones “did make some very poor choices, and she does deserve serious consequences. I certainly don’t condone her repeated lies.”
USA Track & Field president Bill Roe and CEO Craig Masback called the Jones saga “a vivid morality play that graphically illustrates the wages of cheating in any facet of life, on or off the track.”
John Fahey, the new president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said “it is an example of how the work of WADA is making it more likely than ever that those who cheat in sport will be caught.”
Jones expressed an interest in beginning her sentence as soon as possible. Karas gave her until March 11 to surrender. Her lawyers asked that she be sent to a prison near her Austin, Texas, home.
“I’m very disappointed today,” Jones told reporters outside court. “But as I stood in front of all of you for years in victory, I stand in front of you today. I stand for what is right. I respect the judge’s order and I truly hope that people will learn from my mistakes.”
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
LowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM OTHER SPORTS |
 Other sports Section Front |
| Add Other sports headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links