In February 2004, BALCO’s founder, a BALCO executive, a track coach and Bonds’s personal trainer were indicted on charges including fraud, money laundering, and possession and intent to distribute illegal steroids. All the defendants pleaded not guilty. In 2005, the coach was sentenced to one year of probation, the personal trainer received three months in prison and three months of house arrest, and the BALCO founder received four months in prison and four months of house arrest, while the BALCO exec received probation.
Then in 2007, Jones admitted to lying to federal agents during the BALCO investigation. She also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in an unrelated case. Jones struck a plea deal and was sentenced to six months in prison in the performance-enhancing drugs case and two months in the bank fraud case, two years of probation, plus 800 hours of community service. She was permitted to serve the two prison sentences concurrently. The International Olympic Committee stripped her of all of her medals.
Bonds was also charged with perjury in the BALCO case. He went to trial and in 2011 was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation and 250 hours of community service.
Not only was Jones’s sentence longer than the men at the top of the doping conspiracy, but it was also longer than Bonds’s sentence.
“The sentence that Barry Bonds got was in some ways consistent with a lot of the sentences that the judge handed down for some of the other individuals who had lied or had engaged in misleading conduct during the course of that investigation,” lawyer David Kent, who handled high-profile fraud and corruption cases at the District of Columbia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, tells A&E Crime + Investigation.
Why Marion Jones Got a Harsher Sentence
Kent believes a few factors influenced the different treatment of Jones and Bonds’s cases. “The first factor is the bank fraud investigation itself,” he says. “With bank fraud in general, the sentencing exposure can be very significant. So, the false statements count that she pled to was definitely better for her than getting exposed to bank fraud or conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Some of the other individuals, for example, Tim Montgomery, who was her partner, ended up getting 46 months of incarceration for his involvement in that scheme.”
Kent notes that the sentencing range for giving a false statement is typically between zero and six months.
Another factor may be the exact charges Jones faced, at least when compared with Bonds.
“Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice and giving an evasive answer to questions under oath, which is lesser than lying under oath—and that was before a grand jury,” Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP founding partner Bryan Sullivan tells A&E Crime + Investigation.
While Jones admitted to lying to investigators, Bonds’s meandering answers to grand jury questions were not legally determined to be lies.
“The difference is that she pled guilty to lying to investigators, and I don't think he technically lied to investigators,” Sullivan, whose firm offers civil crisis management, says. “He was not accused of lying to investigators, whereas she was. I've been through a couple investigations like that, and they always say, ‘You're not under oath, but lying to us is a federal crime,’ and that's just for witnesses that weren't even targets.”
Jones’s sentence also included a community service aspect.
“The judge noted he wanted Marion Jones to educate children and school-age athletes about the importance of competing without cheating,” Kent points out. “That’s because there were overarching expressions and concerns about the impact that Marion Jones's underlying conduct and false statements had with respect to the integrity of sport.”
Kent says it’s unusual for athletes to actually be prosecuted for using performance-enhancing drugs. Most sports organizations, like the Olympics, have formal policies and sanctions to deal with such violations.
Noting that Jones’s legal issues began when she was subpoenaed as part of the BALCO investigations, Sullivan’s advice to anyone who receives a subpoena is simple: “Call a lawyer as soon as you get the subpoena. Don't try to talk your way out of it, because you don't know what they know that led them to sending you the subpoena.”
"Well, I would hope that people would look at my journey, Robin, and ultimately come to the conclusion that failure isn't forever," she told Roberts. "That although many people cannot relate to being an Olympic athlete, an Olympic champion, a convicted felon, everybody can relate when it comes to failure in their lives, right?"
Today, Jones coaches and mentors entrepreneurs in overcoming obstacles and challenges.
“To her credit, Marion Jones was an incredible athlete in track and field, basketball, and a lot of people looked up to her,” Kent says. “I think it was positive that she would be able to utilize that to advance the sport and athletics afterwards by doing that community service.”
