#oregon project

She’d been up for too long. Working during the day and then covering the late shift to help out with any injuries occurring during the training of the Zeros (and there were injuries, somehow every ten minutes) was simply too much.

Not that she’d ever complain. Hailey had fought hard enough to come here, actually had it spelled out word for word that this was where it counted, this was the one time she didn’t only feel like she had to prove herself. So she stuck name lists above her desk until the names also stuck in her head, never turned down an extra shift and sent in her reports, and it was working out so well, really, but there were just moments where she felt like she could use a tiny bit of clear liquid from the lab to keep her awake. She probably wouldn’t exactly have been above it, if said laboratory hadn’t been a good deal of miles away, leaving her oddly homesick for the sterile white tiles where she’d grown up to become a scientist.

So Hailey straightened her back, put the medical equipment sitting on her desk back in the drawer where it belonged and grabbed this morning’s two folders of records instead. Maybe she’d at least be able to go over them with a coffee between her fingers, really-

“Miss Standfort?”

Out of respect to my fellow runners celebrating their USA meet and teammates racing overseas, I delayed talking about this subject a couple weeks so that more positivity could be focused on the amazing track performances in the U.S. and abroad that deserve full attention.

I went public with the truth about what I experienced at the Oregon Project and under the coaching of Alberto Salazar last month because I believe in upholding the integrity of our sport, and I wanted to confirm what I had already told USADA in 2013. What prevented me from coming forward in 2011 was fear of further retribution after already being suspended by Nike for giving birth to our son. Regardless of Alberto’s expected attack on me and my family, I will continue to tell the truth and cooperate with USADA. Doing the right thing regardless of the fear of retaliation is the only way that things are ever going to change in the fight for clean sport. My biggest hope in coming forward is that I encourage others to come forward and tell the truth as well.

Over the past several weeks, 17 Oregon Project athletes and staff members have come forward to report what they saw during their time at the Oregon Project to the media, and since the USA Championships last month, I know that the number of people who have come forward to USADA has grown. After going back and forth on deciding what to share, I have ultimately decided that it won’t help the USADA investigation if I share any further evidence publicly, so any new knowledge will be shared to USADA alone.

I firmly stand by all my statements, and it was because of the illegal actions that occurred at the Oregon Project under Alberto Salazar that I chose to leave the group. The decision was mine, and I never looked back.

This has certainly been a challenging time for my family and me, and it has taken some time to get the courage to stand up to some the most powerful people in USA running. As my fellow competitors know, these issues run much deeper than just Alberto Salazar and include people that can make or break your career. But if multitudes can come forward as they have here, that shows that runners hold themselves and the sport to a higher standard and I want to do everything I can to make sure it stays there. I am confident that this fight is exactly what our sport needs and is long overdue. I will never regret speaking the truth and furthering the fight for clean sport.

As an injured runner, I’m finding that the energy that might otherwise go into training has been redirected into thoughts of the Oregon Project doping allegations.  

The Citizens United decision by the US Supreme Court aside, I think we can all agree that money can be an influencing factor in many things.  I know that I’m more likely to show up at a designated location at a designated time if my boss tells me to be there than if a random person off the street does.  Why?  Because she’s the one who pays me.  Who gives me money determines what I do.  And within reason, I think that’s true for many if not most people.  

Sports in the United States is different than in many other countries.  Unlike India, for example, we don’t have a Department of Sports.  Professional and amateur sports are run by private entities, dependent on membership and sponsorship.  Even the United States Olympic Committee gets only a tiny portion of its funding from government sources.  

USA Track and Field is no exception.  USATF is supported by funds from a range of corporations, including Visa, Hershey, BMW, and Gatorade.  The money and in-kind contributions provided by these companies allows USATF to function.  

As someone who loves running and track, I’m glad they have stepped up.  

But money doesn’t always come without strings or at least the perception of strings.  Last year, USATF and Nike announced an unprecedented sponsorship agreement -  23 years and more than $400 million.  

My boss doesn’t give me a salary out of the goodness of her heart (although she is a nice person) - she expects me to produce work that helps my company.   It’s not unreasonable to ask what Nike expects for a nearly half billion investment over the next quarter century.  

Sure, Nike as a company is committed to sports.  

But aren’t they also committed to raising the profile of their brand and selling sneakers?  Isn’t one of the ways to sell sneakers is by promoting particular hand-picked athletes and showcasing their accomplishments while wearing Nike products?  Of course.  

To me, it stands to reason that Nike expects their $400 million to elevate their brand within the running world.  

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen numerous examples of Nike flexing its muscles within USATF.  Advertising by a non-Nike shoe company in the airspace above a track resulted in a shoe company executive being kicked out of the US Olympic Trials.  Non-Nike apparel companies were subjected to onerous compliance regulation.  

But most shocking and disturbing of all, non-Nike athletes had their very performances jeopardized and results almost overturned.   (Seriously, if you click on no other link in this post, you need to read this piece.)

In light of all that, what do we think the impact of Nike’s sponsorship will be on USATF’s investigation into the allegations against Alberto Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project?  If a thorough investigation reveals that there is truth to what the BBC alleges, Nike will get a black eye for having funded a systemic attempt to cheat.  I don’t think that will help anyone sell sneakers.  

Alberto Salazar has already demonstrated himself to be someone who will not hesitate to use his influence to try and circumvent USATF processes to change the result of a race to favor one of his athletes.  (Seriously, read the article about the US Indoor Championships.  It’s appalling.)  Why would we possibly think that he would sit back and allow USATF and USADA to dig through the medical and training records of Oregon Project athletes and staff members?  

Ask yourself this: would the investigation into the allegations be different if they were about a group of runners sponsored by a shoe company other than Nike?

Watch the interview with Kara at the US Nationals again:

Remember when she said that people were “threatened” at the meet?  I’m starting to be able to picture what she meant by that.  

USATF is in an untenable situation.  They need Nike’s money to operate.  But the degree to which they are dependent on a single source of funding means that they can’t afford to upset Nike.  At the very least, there is an appearance of undue influence.  

Easy for me to say, but I think what the USATF should do is to give Nike its money back.  Then pull all the major shoe and apparel companies together and ask them to each contribute to the operation of USATF.  Yes, the individual sponsorships would be less, but the collective amount could be as much if not more.  No one company would have exclusivity within USATF, but they would all have access to athletes and consumers.  

Galen Rupp, on his way to getting the 10,000 meter american record, at the 2014 PRE Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

photo Jeff Cohen / instagram.com/jeffcohenphoto