Triple Olympic gold medallist Marion Jones filed a
25 million-dollar lawsuit against accused steroid peddler Victor Conte over his claims
he provided her with performance enhancing drugs.
The suit filed in US District Court in San Francisco, charges that
"Conte defamed Jones with
malice, with intent to injure
Jones in her character and reputation as one of the greatest female
athletes of all time" because he was motivated by "a vendetta", "self-interest" and "a
long-standing grudge."
Conte, the founder of the infamous Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative
(BALCO), is one of four men indicted on criminal charges of illegally
distributing steroids to elite athletes.
The US Anti-Doping Agency has fingered BALCO as the source of
tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), the so-called designer steroid whose discovery
cast a shadow this year over sports ranging from major league baseball to
the Athens Olympics.
Earlier this month, Conte said in an interview with ABC
television's 20/20 programme that he supplied Jones with several banned
drugs before she won five medals - including three golds - at the Sydney
Olympics. He said he instructed her in how to use them and watched as she
injected herself in the leg.
Jones's lawsuit notes that Conte had previously said he didn't provide
her with banned drugs and suggests that his "sudden about-face on the
issue, just four months before his criminal trial is anticipated, appears
motivated by a desire to curry
favour with prosecutors, garner sensationalized media
attention, bolster Conte's own financial and other self-interests, and
harm an individual against whom Conte has a long-standing grudge."
Jones - who failed to win a medal at the Athens Olympics this year -
has repeatedly denied using banned drugs, and has never failed a dope
test.
Jones's name surfaced repeatedly as the BALCO case unfolded this year,
but she consistently denied wrongdoing and anti-doping authorities have
not levelled formal charges against her.
However, materials gleaned from the BALCO criminal investigation have
already resulted in sanctions for some athletes who never tested positive
for banned drugs.
Most recently, former world indoor 200m champion Michelle Collins was banned for eight years in a case built by
USADA on evidence given in the BALCO case.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-16 10:46
