Lolo Jones finished fourth in her race on Tuesday. Though the U.S. won silver and bronze in the 100m hurdles, the “Today” show chose to bring Jones on the set Wednesday morning.
After saying she was “crushed” by the result of the final, she broke down in tears during the interview when asked about “all she’s been dealing with,” including an unflattering write-up about Jones in the New York Times.
“I think it was crazy just because it was two days before I competed, and then the fact that it was from a U.S. media,” Jones told Savannah Guthrie before fighting back tears. “They should be supporting our U.S. Olympic athletes and instead they just ripped me to shreds. I just thought that that was crazy because I worked six days a week, every day, for four years for a 12-second race and the fact that they just tore me apart, which is heartbreaking.
“They didn’t even do their research, calling me the Anna Kournikova of track. I have the American record. I am the American record holder indoors, I have two world indoor titles. Just because I don’t boast about these things, I don’t think I should be ripped apart by media. I laid it out there, fought hard for my country and it’s just a shame that I have to deal with so much backlash when I’m already so brokenhearted as it is.”
Jones is right that the New York Times went too far in the article. She is a more accomplished athlete than it gave her credit for. However, it is not the job of the media to support athletes. It is the job of the media to cover the sport, both good and bad. She had no problem posing for magazine covers and doing interviews to promote herself before the Olympics. She can’t be angry now when she has less than golden results.
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