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bballfan2005 · Posted: 08/08/12 12:26 pm ::: Lolo Jones' teammates speak out

Some of you may have wondered what Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells, Lolo Jones' more accomplished teammates, thought of her getting all the attention leading up to and during the Olympics. Well, here's what they have to say.

http://www.sportsgrid.com/media/dawn-harper-kellie-wells-interview/

It would be interesting to hear what Sally Pearson thought as well. Smile

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jaye · Posted: 08/08/12 12:55 pm :::

you could tell that they were trying to be pc.... it's obvious that they're really pissed over the disparity.... and rightly so... imo but hard to be mad at lolo tho... this generation has been bred to chase the dollar... and the inference is that it doesn't matter what you have to do to get it.... it's the getting it that's important....

i run into it all the time on the street when i'm trying to explain how a celibrity's message or actions are counter productive.... the reply is always the same.... "yeah, but they're getting paid"... and as far as they're concerned... that's the end of it...

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bballfan2005 · Posted: 08/08/12 1:12 pm :::

So true, jaye. But I'm wondering why Lolo is so outraged by the media backlash.

She hasn't one anything significant since college yet she receives numerous opportunities for endorsements and appearances regardless.

She was the one who thought it was important to reveal aspects of her personal/private life to the media. "Oh I'm 30 and totally a virgin". Oh sure. It's not like you spent four years at a big-time SEC football school or anything. "I'm a Christian"--like 99% of your teammates. "My father was never there for me"--which makes you like millions of others in this country.

I just don't understand her getting upset at the very entity that built her up despite not winning anything of significance in two Olympic games. She didn't refuse endorsement money or appearances, did she? She's college-educated, isn't she? So she needs to drop the naive act. The media builds you up and will tear you down eventually. It happens to all media darlings. She knows this.

I don't blame Dawn and Kellie for being "salty". They should be. Dawn was the defending Olympic gold medalist entering last night's race. Dawn and Kellie both medaled and were 1-2 in the US Track and Field trials, proving that they are and have been better than Lolo for quite some time. But they aren't receiving the attention they deserve because neanderthals on social media are more concerned with their looks and not their accomplishments.

And if I'm Sally Pearson, I'm wondering how in the hell am I receiving less media coverage than a woman who didn't even medal.

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coffy73 · Posted: 08/08/12 1:30 pm :::

I don't really follow too much track until an event like the Olympics or world championships come up, so all I've been hearing is Lolo this, Lolo that and nothing about the other americans in the field. Imagine my surprise when those other two won medals, and lolo didn't; from all the coverage, I thought she was a given for gold, ha! In my opinion, Wells is just so cute and should've been talked about just as much as Jones.

coffy73 · Posted: 08/08/12 1:36 pm :::

GEF34 · Posted: 08/08/12 1:42 pm :::

Personally I never understand the hype over her. Yes she is a great runner as evident by the fact that she is a 2 time Olympian and 2 time 100m hurdle finalist, but there are other great runners/hurdlers, as was mentioned Dawn Harper won the gold medal in 2008, she wasn't just a finalist, and she has maintained her level.

Something did surprise me though, I didn't watch the video linked her, but it looks like the interview I saw on tv, where Kellie Wells said something to the effect that the 3 runners who worked the hardest and the most deserving were going to be up on that podium.

And perhaps it's the homer in me, but I always felt bad that Dawn Harper wasn't given more media attention, not because she is from the USA but because she is a UCLA Bruin and I watched her run at UCLA and grow from a collegiate runner into Olympic Champion.

bballfan2005 · Posted: 08/08/12 1:49 pm :::

ucdt3 · Posted: 08/08/12 2:07 pm :::

Genero36 · Posted: 08/08/12 2:24 pm :::

I was listening to ESPN Radio last night and one of ESPN's reporters in London asked Dawn what has been frustrating about the last four years. She stated that she has only one sponsor, while Jones has eight.

luvDhoops · Posted: 08/08/12 2:31 pm :::

Also, I'm thinking "great looks" has always been the motivating factor behind the Lolo push as well, but to me, she's really not all that.

I'm seriously not trying to jump on the girl in this moment, I just didn't get the "oh Lolo's so fine" thing I was seeing on my Facebook timeline. She's ok, but to each his/her own.

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luvDhoops · Posted: 08/08/12 2:37 pm :::

bballfan2005 · Posted: 08/08/12 2:41 pm :::

The people who are saying Lolo is "oh so fine" are the same ones who were hating hard when females on their social media timelines were fawning over Ryan Bailey (100m track athlete). They claimed that he received the "light-skinned" pass from black women.

Nope, nothing hypocritical about that, fellas. Rolling Eyes

For the record, I think Lolo is an attractive woman. I also think she sucks. I think Ryan Bailey's fine and would stop just short of drinking his bath water, but he sucks as well. To me, winning > looks. Maybe I'm wired the wrong way. So be it. Laughing

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coffy73 · Posted: 08/08/12 2:50 pm :::

Lolo is like those celebs who court the media and tip off the paparazzi to their whereabouts, then get angry when those same paps catch them doing something wrong. Then they cry about wanting privacy. Lolo was fine with the media as long as they were hyping her up, but now, she's crying foul cause she didn't live up to it.

luvDhoops · Posted: 08/08/12 3:03 pm :::

mercfan3 · Posted: 08/08/12 3:15 pm :::

bridgehere · Posted: 08/08/12 4:17 pm :::

Okay, first, she is white. We all know what this means. So let's just get that out of the way and she is from the u.s. when you refer to Pearson.

She has marketed herself and her story. I don't see a problem with that.

Finally, it seems she would have won in Bejiing had she not clipped a rail. I think that type of thing always grabs people's attention and they want the person to make a comeback, so they follow her and root for her.

If she is now crying foul because she is not the media darling then her bad. If the media is treating her unfairly, then media bad.

As for the other athletes, don't hate on Lolo, hate on the media and the marketers, which we know are controlled by white males.

These are just some thoughts I have had without being able to see the videos and from reading what is written here.

A related story would be the trending of Gabby's hair being ugly. She is 16, at the olympics. Won the all-around gold and team gold and that is what she sees on the internet. Evidently, she was quite upset. I am wondering if that affected the rest of her performances. GEEZ.....people are screwed up. They can never even think of participating in the Olympics so they get on social media and bash someone's hair or looks.
smdh

luvDhoops · Posted: 08/08/12 4:41 pm :::

bballfan2005 · Posted: 08/08/12 4:47 pm :::

First, she is not white. Her father is black. She is not considered white by US standards (other countries may differ in their depiction of mixed people, but this doesn't apply here because she's an American).

Second, it shouldn't matter if Pearson (who is actually white) is from the US or not. She was the favorite entering the race and actually won the race. The focus should've been on her and the girls who could actually challenge her--Dawn Harper (then the defending Olympic gold medalist) and Kellie Wells. If I'm one of the three who actually medaled last night, I'm pissed that the focus was placed onto an individual who wasn't a major competitor for gold.

Third, I realize that Jones was close to winning the 2008 race. Fine. But here's the thing--she didn't win it. The American woman who did win (Harper) didn't receive nearly enough attention for the feat.

Fourth, she has a right to market herself the way she wants. I agree with that. What I have a problem with is the hypocrisy. She created this "rags to riches" build-up and the media bought in. Now she expects the media to be sympathetic despite her repeated failures on the big stage. That's not how it works. She didn't turn down money that was offered to her nor did she offer not to give appearances and interviews. In other words, she was willing to go with the media when they were acting in her favor. Now that they're starting to turn on her, she wants to question their motives? Again, she should've been questioning their motives when they were heaping her with adoration and praise for NOT WINNING! The problem isn't with the media in this instance--it's with the woman who thought she could control the media. She's child-like in that regard--only wants to hear the good stuff and can't handle the criticism that comes with increased exposure. To much is given, much is expected. She knows this--that's why her little tantrums are amusing to me.

Fifth, the media has, is, and will always be controlled by white males unless Oprah buys up a couple hundred more channels. As always, those who control the media have the same objective--build them up and ride the wave of increased ratings when they're up, and tear them down and ride the wave of increased ratings when they're down. Again, Lolo knows this.

Sixth, the other athletes have as much a right to hate on Lolo if they choose as they have a right to hate on the media. If you made an A in a class taught by an esteemed professor and asked her to write you a LOR, you'd expect her words to reflect the hard work you put into acing her class. If you find out that she wrote you a generic letter that led to you having to settle for University of Maryland as opposed to Johns Hopkins, you'd be pissed. When you find out that one of your frat brothers got a better letter from the prof despite making a lower grade and actually got into Hopkins, you're going to blow a gasket. You aren't going to just be angry at the professor. You're going to be angry at the other guy, as it's perceived that he didn't work as hard as you did but received awards that far exceeded yours.

Seventh, I have no idea how Gabby Douglas or the controversy surrounding Gabby's hair has any relevance to a discussion on Lolo Jones.

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bridgehere · Posted: 08/08/12 4:51 pm :::

bridgehere · Posted: 08/08/12 5:06 pm :::

bridgehere · Posted: 08/08/12 5:10 pm :::

bballfan2005 · Posted: 08/08/12 5:13 pm :::

The Gabby Douglas controversy stemmed from the Twitter rantings of shiftless self-hating black males (whose opinions are worth less than two cents they already don't have) and jealous self-hating black females (who ought to be more concerned with physical health than a 16-year-old girl's hairstyle. There are terms to describe both, but that's not relevant to the discussion. Needless to say that their faces won't be plastered on a box of Corn Flakes anytime soon (thank goodness for that).

Black people whose opinions actually matter have been nothing but supportive of Gabby Douglas. It's the fools within the race whose opinions the media has decided to give life to (gee--I wonder why). The squeakiest wheel always gets the most grease. Rather than point out that she's received a ton of praise from the likes of President Obama, Oprah, Gabrielle Union, fellow Olympic teen Missy Franklin, and Justin Bieber, they'd rather place the focus on the no-name morons whose only claim to fame is having a Twitter account that allows them to express their idiotic thoughts 140 characters at a time.

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Realcomplicated · Posted: 08/08/12 5:22 pm :::

I read the link and good for Gabby...She told their asses off Laughing

bballfan2005 · Posted: 08/08/12 5:26 pm :::

BCBG25 · Posted: 08/08/12 5:31 pm :::

I confess I had never heard about her prior to London, but isn't the media rampage on her kind of disproportionate to the attention?
We get it, she failed, move on. They're piling on her like no other athlete and I can name a few who could get equal public shaming for their failures vs. the expectations (not all in the US, mind you. Liu Xiang comes to mind). I get the feeling some in the media were just lying in wake waiting for this moment to unleash hell on her. Crazy and sad.

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