News broke recently that convicted felon and former sprinter Marion Jones signed a one-year contract with WNBA’s Tulsa Shock. While many people know her as a former champion, most remember that she was stripped of her five Olympic medals after admitting in 2007 that she was using a designer steroid called the “clear” to help her performance during the games.  Jones also spent six months in a Texas prison for lying to federal prosecutors about doping and her role in a check-fraud scam. The terms of the contract with Tulsa were not disclosed but no doubt, it must be a good deal for the 34-year-old who played basketball extensively in the past, but has never been on a WNBA team. At a recent news conference she said,” “The word redemption is not in my vocabulary, I’m a competitor, I want to play against the best in the world, and I know that I will be doing that.”

While the president of the team Steve Swetoh believes Jones deserves a second chance (and probably isn’t too sore about attracting more people to the game because of the controversy), the announcement of Jones’ return to professional sports was the object of much criticism as many feel that his may send the message that steroids may get you a slap on the wrist but when money talks, rules can be easily broken and you can get more than just one chance to start over again. However, watching male athletes such as A-Rod and Mark McGuire use steroids and go free while remaining as popular as ever does seems like quite a double standard.

What do you think? Does Jones deserve a second chance after using drug, cheating, lying about it and spending time in prison?

Associated Press: Marion Jones signs with WNBA’s Tulsa Shock

Tags: a-rod, basketball, convicted, felony, marion jones, Mark McGuire, performance enhancing drugs, steriods, tulsa shock, wnba