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Vinnie is very excited about today’s guest … he actually confesses to have fallen in love with her when he met her. Mechelle Lewis Freeman is an Olympic sprinter. In the 2007 Pan American games, she was a double silver medalist. She was a member of the 2008 USA Olympic team. She attended the University of South Carolina on a full track scholarship. Vinnie and Mechelle discuss the politics of the Olympics, how colleges exploit athletes and the problem with drug use in sports.
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BEING AN OLYMPIC ATHLETE
- You are considered an amateur. Not a professional league
- Running is a full-time job
- Athletes run for prize money and consistent money through sponsors
- The IOC (International Olympic Committee) makes huge amounts of money…why don’t athletes?
COLLEGES EXPLOIT PLAYERS
- Why stay in school? There’s no money.
- Athletes want to go pro
- Athletes pushing to get paid for what they bring to college
- Spectators pay to be there
- Need to come up with a better system
OLYMPICS AND DOPING
- Athletes have to live with the cloud of doping issues
- Athletes used to be one step ahead of law…now more and more are being caught
- Officials are cracking down on athletes who use drugs
- They are also cracking down on anyone who can influence athletes to use drugs
ANABOLIC STEROIDS
- There’s pressure to use them, to keep up
- Only the top athletes get paid the big money
- Athletes feel pressure to be the best
- Especially if that pressure comes from their coach