Marion Jones on Oprah

Marion Jones won five Olympic Gold Medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney. About a year ago, Jones admitted to using steroids during that time (for which she was stripped of her medals) and to lying to Federal prosecutors (for which she was sentenced and served six months in prison). She was released from prison on September 5, 2008. Yesterday, she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

If you didn’t see the show, the reviews are mixed about her “performance.” Some say Oprah was too easy on her. Some say that she is still lying and deluding herself about her role in the 2000 doping scandal. I think that she’s probably gone through enough and we should give her the benefit of the doubt.

When Oprah asked her about her prison time, she replied:

“There were moments, Oprah, where I felt like my world was over. I wasn’t with my family. I wasn’t with my kids. I had made such a huge mistake, let so many people down, disappointed myself,” she says. “And there were remarkably days where I just felt empowered almost. It’s almost like I got this renewed energy where I felt that, ‘I’m here for a reason.’ The searching for that reason, I think, is what really changed my life.”

Jones still has to serve two years probation and to complete 800 hours of community service. She will have to disclose that she’s a convicted felon for the rest of her life.

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