No place left to hide for American drug cheaters

By Steve Keating

DETROIT (Reuters) - Sprinter Marion Jones became the latest big name to be caught in the anti-doping dragnet on Friday, joining a growing list of American drug cheats who are finding there is no place left to hide.

Under pressure from government and public opinion to rid sports of performance-enhancing drugs, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) along with the nation's big four professional leagues -- the MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA -- have been forced to implement stronger testing that has peeled back the facade of a level playing field to expose a deep-rooted doping culture.

"Now American journalists who are complete homeboys for their sports are starting to look at these things with a different eye," World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound told Reuters. "Media is aware of it, parents are aware of it, athletes are aware of it.

"Now that there are serious sanctions in place the police are willing to put in the time necessary to do it.

"You're dealing with systematic, organized, well-financed cheating and people who lie. You have to be able to go to them and say, 'We know this is what you're doing and get out,'" Pound said.

Jones' admission that her triple gold medal performance at the 2000 Summer Games was powered by performance-enhancing drugs comes just weeks after Tour de France winner Floyd Landis was found guilty of doping and stripped of his title.

The five-time world champion is also likely to be stripped of many of her titles, including all five Olympic medals from Sydney, unless she decides to give them up first.

"After years of denying that she used banned substances, Ms. Jones has finally decided to come forward and admit the truth," USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth said in a statement. "Her admission is long overdue and underscores the shame and dishonor that are inherent with cheating.