David Epstein, writing for Sports Illustrated and ProPublica, reports that a USA Track & Field representative and coach "encouraged [the] use of the banned products and transported them" for doper Tyson Gay.
Epstein says sources close to the investigation claim Gay, in exchange for a lesser ban from competition, dimed out Jon Drummond, the chair of USATF's Athletes Advisory Committee and 2012 Olympic relay coach. Gay allegedly said Drummond gave him the nudge-nudge wink-wink for the steroid-laced cream, and furthermore toted it around for him.
Drummond and USATF have both been asked for comment. Neither has responded.
The implication that a USATF coach and athletes' representative is totally cool with American athletes doping is grounds enough to plead with the U.S. Olympic Committee to revoke their charter. Furthermore, it raises a couple questions:
- If Drummond is acting as drug courier for Gay, were any of the other members of the former 2012 Olympic silver-medaling team also doped? According to Epstein, modern testing methods are rife with doping misses.
- Or were teammates merely victims of Drummond himself being an enabler and gopher, now that they've all lost their medals? It's unclear how far the corruption has gone.
USATF is awful for a number of reasons. But adding "drug lord" to the list is grounds for more serious action than Twitter chatter.
[Photo: AP Images]