Game Over?

"Athletes in society have an elevated status, they entertain, they inspire, and perhaps, most important, they serve as role models," U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas, sentencing Marion Jones to six months in prison.

"Cash rules everything around me." - Wu-Tang Clan

Ten years ago the story went something like this: I was a little 12-year-old standing in a circle of friends waiting for the bell to ring at my middle school. My appointed bully, let's call her Lipgloss, struts over from her end of the yard smelling like all sorts of processed strawberry and kiwi body sprays. Lipgloss is all "N'sync this..." and "Leonardo DiCaprio that" before she gives me a full length body mug and goes, "you know Jamilah, if you didn't wear Nike's and play basketball, you'd be such a nerd."

And she was right. I was all skin and bones with bad acne, a slight obsession with the Civil War and a mean jumper. But it was 1998 and women in sports were, quite literally, the business. There were two professional women's basketball leagues, the WNBA and the now-defunct ABL, not to mention a host of national women's sports idols adorning the pages of the nation's top sports magazines: Jamila Wideman, Kate Starbird, Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm, just to name a few. In North Carolina, a young guard on the UNC women's basketball team was putting the finishing touches on her legacy after helping the team win a national championship and making a name for herself as a star dual athlete in both track and basketball. After decades of organized resistance, women were finally reeking the benefits of Title IX, stampeding doors into sports arenas and breaking glass ceilings to reach the next level. Little girls like myself and millions of others paid close attention to our sheroes, emulating their cross overs and practicing well after dark to grow up and be just like them.

Now, the story has many of the same characters, but a very different script: the ABL is gone and most folks are surprised to know that the WNBA still exists. That basketball player in North Carolina, Marion Jones, who would go on to win Olympic gold in 2000 and become one the highest paid sports darlings of our era, admitted to using steroids, was stripped of her medals and was today sentenced by a federal judge to six months in prison for lying to federal investigators. The backlash against feminism is complete.

Jones' punishment by the federal government, the media and fans has by far been the harshest of any professional athlete linked to performance enhancing drugs. She's now the precedent for punishment in the sports witch-hunt, and while everyone asks the question of who, very few are asking why athletes chose to use the drugs in the first place, and why Jones' punishment has been so harsh in comparison to more high profile white male athletes accused of similar crimes.

Also in the news this week was Mark McGuire's second rejection from baseball's Hall of Fame. His career has also been tarnished by accusations of steroid use, and he's kept a low profile since pleading the fifth in front of a grand jury. But his records still stand and he's said to be kickin' it in the woods somewhere, not languishing behind bars. During that same grand jury indictment, former Texas Ranger Rafael Palmeiro vehemently campaigned against performance enhancing drugs in baseball, but months later tested positive. His punishment? A ten day ban.

While it's true that track and field has a strict anti-doping policy that professional baseball is hardpresed to come within inches of, even male track stars who test positive don't face punishment nearly as severe as Jones'. Justin Gatlin, an Olympic gold medal sprinter also tested positive for steroids in 2006 and was recently banned from the sport for four years. He still has his gold medal. The list could go on: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Andy Petite. While all these players have faced scrutiny, none have faced the media and legal circus that has ruined Marion Jones.

We live in a drug addicted society. Whether it's over the counter pills, antidepressants or black market items, damn near everyone is on something.While athletes are role models, they're first and foremost human commodities in a multi billion dollar business predicated on entertainment. Our capitalist society is in constant search for bigger, better and faster. Ten years ago, Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa helped save professional baseball by packing stadiums during their highly publicized homerun chase. Where were the federal indictments then? Sports should be a level playing field, but it's business, and when has business ever really been fair? Athletes do deserve some of the blame and punishment. But if we're looking for answers, we need to look no further than our drug addicted, entertainment obsessed selves.

Jamilah King is Wiretap's contributing editor.