The Washington Post reported Marion Jones admitted using steroids before the 2000 Olympics in a recent letter to close family and friends. Jones, a triple gold medalist in Sydney, said she took "the clear" for two years, beginning in 1999, and that she got it from former coach Trevor Graham. She claims her coach told her it was flaxseed oil.
"The clear" is a performance-enhancing drug linked to BALCO, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports. Jones had steadfastly denied she ever took any kind of performance-enhancing drugs despite numerous accusations in recent years.
Jones is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., on Friday to plead guilty to charges in connection with her steroid use, a federal law enforcement source told The Associated Press. "I want to apologize for all of this," the Post reported Jones saying in her letter, quoting a person who received a copy and read it to the paper. "I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways."
Jones faces up to 6 months in jail.
Lets leave all the scandalous speculation and mock outrage to the sports-radio talk shows. They will all argue about the validity of sports records and the proliferation of steriods in sports and the morals of using performance enhancers. I choose to focus on the bigger question....
Why the hell would athletes believe they were being given flaxseed oil? We know what 'the clear' is supposed to do. What possible benefit would flaxseed oil have on them? The following is a list of facts about flaxseed oil from the University of Maryland Medical Center...
Flaxseed oil is derived from the seeds of the flax plant. Flaxseed oil and flaxseed contain substances that promote good health. Flaxseed oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential fatty acid that appears to be beneficial for heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and a variety of other health conditions. Flaxseed, in addition to ALA, contains a group of chemicals called lignans that may play a role in the prevention of cancer.
Flaxseed Oil has many uses. Flaxseed Oil may be used to treat the following: High Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Arthritis, Breast Cancer, Depression, Burns, Acne, Asthma, and Menstrual Pain.
Its possible that Jones believed she was being treated for menstrual pain... assuming that she needed such treatment at that very moment. Perhaps she was suffering from joint pains (Arthritis) and believed that she was recieving something that would ease the pain. She was never publicly reported to be in need of treatment for any of the other ailments described by the University of Maryland.
So why didn't Jones question the reason the was allegedly being giving Flaxseed Oil? Are we to believe that a proffessional athelete allowed her trainer to coat her with a chemical substance without asking WHY?
Sorry, I will never believe that.
For the record, Flaxseed Oil is not given as a cream or lotion. Its given in tablet or gel cap form.
