If
you were to Google me, I am not to be confused with the
other Kevin Youngs that pop-up. I am neither the pro
baseball player nor the poet, although I’ve been known to
bust a lyric or two. I am the Kevin Young who was the UCLA
“walk-on” from Watts, the first ever “ESPY” award winner in
Track & Field, the current American, Olympic, and World
record holder in the 400 meter hurdles, and thus far the
only person ever to run the event in under 47 seconds
(46.78).
Recently,
the notorious “steroids under the arms” dealer,
known on the streets as Victor “Little Vicky Balco” Conte,
plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money
laundering. As part of his plea
bargain, “Little Vicky” will receive four months
prison time and four more under house arrest. That Martha
Stewart Judge sure gets around.
Despite this
dispensing of justice, one thing is clear--we
may never know the “juicy” details leaked
by some of the world’s best athletes
during that infamous grand jury
testimony. So now what?
What happens now that Little Vicky gets to
kick it at Club Fed and then chill at the house for a
quarter? What happens to the athletes whose reps were
besmirched by the allegations? What happens in the aftermath
to the sports world which has definitely taken one on the
chin?
Well let’s
start by giving around of applause to the skeptics
and speculators, those same old
folks that believe everyone’s on some kind of performance
enhancing drug. For them, Little
Vicky’s fall from glory brings to light what they’ve known
for years. Unfortunately folks,
I have to recuse myself from that group. Of all the people
in the world, the “Real Kevin Young” cannot speculate or be
cynical, even if there is “clear” and precise evidence that
says otherwise.
Do you want to know why I can’t
even comment? Because I
made possible what they said
was impossible
(breaking Edwin Moses’ time of 47.02—without the use of
performance enhancing drugs. Throughout my career, I
have always had to defend this fact
and my integrity with a personal vigor and conviction
that would have drained a lesser man.
For the
record, let me again state this fact, I have never
used performance enhancing drugs, steroids, the “juice,”
or whatever you may want to call it. I have never been
approached by a peer or past coach to take any drugs. In
fact, I have deemed myself a
poster child for the “How to
Run Clean
Track Campaign”
which I’m sure is coming to a
Senate hearing near you.
My track and field reputation is
sacred to me. I hold this dear to my heart, character, and
integrity. And this is something that I have never
questioned nor compromised for anyone
or anything, not even for the
spoils and promises of tainted “drug money.”
Dr. Robert Simon, a noted sports
ethics philosophy professor at Hamilton College states: “We
have athletic contests to see who is athletically better,
testing not only natural ability, but how we
developed our skills, our mental qualities, our
coolness under pressure, and our choices of
strategies.”
For
some reason, I like this guy. Maybe
it’s because my career has embodied these
principles as stated by Dr. Simon and that folks are
trying to overshadow with
speculation. Let’s look at natural ability. I’m 6’4”
with a 37” inseam. I can
long, high, and triple jump-- Next,
we have developed skills;
I’m ambidextrous-I can
alternate lead legs and long jump with either leg. Let’s
look at mental qualities. In 1988,
I went to the show (the Seoul
Olympics). I got caught up
in the hype and stressed out.
It manifested itself in the
form of a hamstring injury that miraculously disappeared
after my fourth place finish.
Fast forward to 1992, the scene
–the Barcelona Olympics-- Been
there, done that. And as for the
coolness under pressure
principle, it was all
about advancing through the rounds. Finally,
there’s the choice of
strategy. Keep it simple, stupid-- Be fit, run, attack
the hurdles and stick to the game plan that got me there in
the first place. It didn’t hurt to have major competitors
either DQ’d or suspended along the way.
So back to
my original question, where’s the jurisprudence for
steroid distributors, shamed athletes, and the briefly
mentioned coaches whose hands
are also tied in this web of deceit? The
athletes, depending on
their sport
and/or luck will receive
a two, four, or lifetime ban that could
end their livelihood (T&F) or nothing at all if
you happen to play baseball. Fines don’t count to
me.
And what about these coaches?
To my knowledge, only one coach
was handed some sort of
sentence and that’s Charlie Frances. Even old coach
Korchemny (coach of the 2003 World Championships performance
enhancing drug pin-up girl Kellie White) is still milling
over his deal with the Feds. Don’t get
me wrong, I like Remy, the man and the drink,
but he and others have escaped scrutiny and
judgment. And
in the process, have tainted a sacred part of Americana that
many aspiring athletes hold dear. Suddenly, that Wheaties
box isn’t as appealing to me anymore
I remember growing up wanting to
be on that box. I remember Samuel Matete of Zambia running
47.10, witnessing how close he came to breaking the old
world record. You see, it was a track and field school of
thought that no one was ever going to break Edwin’s 47.02
time. But I felt whoever did
it should indeed have the great honor of gracing the front
of the Wheaties box, just on general principle. Guess what?
It didn’t happen.
I’ll
admit it, I wish that it had. But not
because of some pride or ego ish! I wanted that
Wheaties box because of all the fond
childhood memories and ideas I
held regarding sports
which centered on fun and fair-play--the same ideal
of fair play that this Balco scandal has decimated.
I finally got that Wheaties box,
sort of, thanks to the efforts of my nieces and
nephews. We held a contest to see
who could draw their uncle the best. Guess what? It
was fun and the playing field was fair. The world doesn’t
know this, and for that matter neither
does General Mills, but
I have graced the
fronts of several Wheaties
boxes and you know what? I look good jumping over turtles!
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