What’s bugging me about sports this week? Marion Jones

Remember Marion Jones? She’s the Olympic gold medalist who won the hearts of fans after her valiant performance at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.

Then seven years later, Jones admitted to using steroids and agreed to give back her medals. The sports world was shocked, appalled and angry at Jones for disgracing her sport and country on such a large scale. This was especially true for the female and African-American communities, where Jones was celebrated especially.

Now after a few years out of the limelight, Jones is trying to get back into the world of sports. She’s not trying to get back on the track though, but the basketball courts of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Jones played basketball in college at the University of North Carolina, but that was over 15 years ago and before Jones lost her integrity in the competitive sports world.

While Jones return to the basketball court will probably translate well to WNBA ticket sales, I worry that people will only be going to games to see the novelty of Jones.

I hope Jones succeeds in the WNBA and that her presence will give the struggling league a boost in ratings and attendance. A part of me also thinks that Jones should get over her athletic career and realize what she did is irredeemable in most sports fans eyes.

Or, as one of my friends suggested, maybe she should try her hand at baseball; I hear their steroids policy is quite lenient.