“I’m the Charles Barkley of The Olympics,” reads the bio of this American athlete. We don’t need to tell you who Barkley is. He won the 1993 MVP, was an 11-time All-Star, and is one of the shortest players ever (6’6″) to lead the league in rebounding, but he never won a championship. This athlete is also a world-class hurdler and later a bobsledder. She made multiple Olympic teams but never medaled, despite being a favorite in events like the 100m hurdles in 2008, where she tripped on the second-to-last hurdle in a race she was winning. But life has been harsher to her than just medals. What is it? And who is it? It’s Lolo Jones!
Now, Jones had a different way of celebrating International Olympic Day. On June 23rd, 2025, she took to her Instagram to make a post that talked of her grievances, that talked of her voice, and what she wanted to say. But about what? Her caption answered. It read, “I’m one of the few athletes who’s competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympics yet I’m currently not allowed inside any Olympic Training Center.”Jones represented the U.S. in track and field at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics, competing in the 100m hurdles. She later transitioned to bobsled and competed as a brakewoman in the two-woman event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, finishing 11th.
She has been banned from accessing the Olympic Training Center and suspended from training with the national team for about four months, in a decision that lasts through August 3, 2025. Why? Her caption says, “Why? Because I voiced my frustration after being Denied access to medical care following a severe bobsled injury. A few days before World Championahips begun, I sustained a spinal injury that caused me to lose all bladder control a herniated disc, a disc bulge, and multiple tears in my back while testing out new Bobsleds for Team USA.” The ban came after she got into a heated debate with a medical staff member.
The athlete further wrote, “I want to sincerely thank everyone for the support all the messages, the encouragement, and the Olympians who’ve privately shared their own experiences with me. No athlete in pain should ever be left without care.” The debate only took place after she was denied an urgent treatment appointment she expected on the grounds that she’d already received the allocated care that week.
The Olympian concluded with, “And yes “happy” Olympic day… I guess“. A rather harsh Olympic day for the four-time world champion. But there are more layers to this incident than just verbal abuse and a ban. Let’s take a look at the full picture.
The full picture
Lolo Jones’ follow-up appointment was abruptly canceled “with zero options,” she says, leaving her in pain and without treatment. In frustration, Jones called medical director John Faltus a “a horrible f—— human being,” according to USOPC documents. Faltus also alleges that Jones made an obscene gesture toward him, an allegation Jones denies. “This behavior is a direct violation of the OPTC Code of Conduct,” Julie Marra, director of the USOPC Training Center in Lake Placid, wrote in a March 1 email to Jones.
It further read, “This conduct is unacceptable, and I want to make it clear that such behavior cannot be tolerated.” As a result, Jones was handed the four-month ban. But it does not end here. Jones, other Olympians, Team USA members, and a USA Bobsled and Skeleton official describe her suspension as excessive, arbitrary, retaliatory, and based on little, if any, investigation by USOPC officials. “We had a 30-minute mediation before Worlds where they made me cry,” Jones said.
She continued, “They admitted that they messed up by not telling me my appointment was canceled and they said that they would change protocols in the future for athletes and at least give them proper time to make adjustments. I said, ‘If you’re admitting you did something wrong, then why are you punishing me and not your provider who did not contact me?’ They were speechless. They said that they were gonna uphold the ban.” In another one of her posts, she asserted that the USOPC “weaponized” access to medical care and training facilities as punishment for speaking out, and that other winter athletes fear similar retaliation if they voice concerns.
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