I have been very vocal about the return of those found guilty of a doping violation. I believe that despite the fact that it is a tougher pill to swallow when someone else’s mistake directly affects you, people make mistakes just the same and should be given a chance to redeem themselves.

However, realizing that you were wrong isn’t enough when your choices caused others pain. When someone is convicted of a crime, in addition to being removed from society, as a condition of their return they sometimes are on house arrest or have community service and a parole officer to answer too. Some never get all the their rights back. Maybe they can’t vote or live within a certain distance from children. Bottom line is after time served they don’t just slink back into society unnoticed.

I feel this is the same way offenders of the sports world should have to pay retribution. At this time there is nothing in place to make an athlete do any community service after having served a suspension.

Last week, I got a chance to check out a program Justin Gatlin voluntarily created with USATF where he is going around speaking openly about his experience. I am elated that the first building block is in place to make my idea a reality! Hopefully USADA will get on board in turning this into something more concrete for all Olympic sports.

The main question people ponder when they hear about someone’s doping violation is whether or not the offender meant to do it. They listen to the gossip, rumors and news and try to decide for themselves how guilty the person is in their eyes.

The reality is that intentional or unintentional becomes irrelevant once you have tested positive because the policy of USADA is that your are responsible for what enters your body, PERIOD.

The main point of accountability is key. Regardless of whether you meant to or not, when you think of all the people affected by your positive test, at the bear minimum you feel responsible for being naive if nothing else.

Here are a few of the messages I took away from the event:

* A strong support system is key, especially at a young age when you forced to grow up quickly. We have people turning into professionals as early as 18 years old. Though that is what the government recognizes as an adult, you are hardly ready to make the decisions that come along with making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

* One moment can forever be a part of your past, present and future. It is important to consider this every time you make a decision. As a doping offender there will always be skeptics discounting your performance creating a cloud you can’t get out from under.

* It is incredibly humbling to go from the top to rock bottom, but as long as you have the will you can find the strength to start climbing again learning a lot about yourself along the way.

* No matter your intentions, you have to be ready to except responsibility for what appear to be your actions. My dad often said it like this, “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.”

*Character is built day by day and can take you far even when you have a damaging blow. It is important to be the best you you can be daily so that even if you stumble ALL will not loose faith in you as a person.

*Knowledge is power. Ignorance is not an excuse for any mistake you make. Educating yourself is priceless. If you don’t know something pick up a book or ask.
Surround yourself with the right people you can trust to help you find the right information and make your own decision.

It is my hope that in the days to come, instead of criticizing Justin, those who love this sport will take some vulnerable athlete either current or up-and-coming and show them that there is a lesson to be learned from Justin’s experience.

Don’t hate congratulate!

This is a common slang phrase meaning don’t waste your energy being envious of my success, instead be happy for me.

I am happy for Carmelita Jeter and Usain Bolt too for that matter. All year long and even more so now the mumbling under people’s breath has been,” Are they clean?” I do not keep 24hr surveillance on either but my opinion is that what they have accomplished this year is doable without performance enhancing substances.

Those of us within the sport have to layoff the hatred and have some confidence in our competitors work ethic and morals.

We want to get from up under the doping cloud yet we have joined the outsiders in brow raising and finger pointing every time someone finishes ahead of us. If the truth be told we should assess how accountable we have been for our own performances or lack there of.

I won’t speak on behalf of the male sprints on the time line of when those times should have been run, but in the case of the women’s 100m I had expected to be running something similar myself by now. In my mind having run 10.88 in 2005 a steady progression plus great competition to keep me hungry surely should have produced a sub 10.70 time for me. Unfortunately things haven’t gone quite as planned for me or for some of my greatest competitors either. Instead, 4 years later women are having the kind of year we have long been capable of but yet to produce. Multiple ladies running consistently under 11 seconds each race has been the norm this year and though I am not one of them I am excited about it. It is time to put up or shut up. Make the most of your talent and potential or get to the back and get over it.

You can not become consumed by what you can not control. You can not control what the competition is doing. So you may as well be consumed with what your doing because that is all you can control!
I have faith in the fact that all the top sprinters know the weight that our event carries. Call me naïve but I don’t believe with all that has gone on recently and knowing our sport is on the brink of self-destruction if another top notch sprinter falls from grace that anyone would be so selfish as to risk others lively hood for a chance at faulty fame.

The moral of the story… We must focus on banding together and believing in each other for the sake of changing the image of our sport. If track is your career, your passion and your life than take more pride in making it look appealing to the public. A good place to begin is directing your attention to finding the best possible balance to get the most out of yourself.