Sanya Richards-Ross speaks out about the Olympics

Jul 23, 2012 by Ryan From Flotrack

This past Friday on Twitter Sanya Richards-Ross openly gave her statements about logo restrictions on athletes' jerseys along with questioning why athletes are not paid for participating in the Olympic Games. Richards-Ross' statements come not long after an interview featured on Flotrack with her USA Track and Field teammate, Nick Symmonds. The interview with Symmonds came after his appearance on CNBC where Symmonds openly talked about sponsorship issues. Symmonds has been very vocal on this topic since the fall when he wrote this blog about governing bodies crippling track and field athletes (see a great response to Nick's blog from Toni Reavis). The blog started a lot of talk amongst track and field athletes, but it has been rare to see other athletes really stand out to let their voices be heard in public....more specifically, athletes that carry weight from being the best in the world.

The Track and Field Athletes Association was formed this past year to help give a voice for the athletes. They have done a great job in starting to bring athletes together to work towards making the sport better (see list of members, both Symmonds and Richards-Ross are on board). Adam Nelson, a member of the board and two-time Olympic Silver medalist, is another athlete that has been vocal about sponsorship issues and the Olympic Games (see interview below). Lauren Fleshman also brought attention to the sport when she was forced to scrub off a temporary tattoo from her arm while on the starting line that was promoting her "Picky Bars" business.

Watch more Flotrack videos on Sponshorship

However Richards-Ross may be the biggest name to speak up yet. Sanya is the best hope for Olympic Gold out of the athletes who have been vocal. She is arguably one of the best 400 meter runners of all time. With the exception of 2010, she has run under 50 seconds every year since 2004 including her 2006 American record run of 48.70. As of 2009, Richard-Ross had run under 50.0 over the one lap race over 40 times in her career (four of those were under 49 seconds). She ranks #7 all-time in the event. The only major achievement that has eluded her up to this point is an individual Olympic Gold medal. Heading into the London Olympics, Richard-Ross ranks #2 in the world with her mark of 49.28 (Antonina Krivoshapka of Russia is #1 at 49.16).

Below is a list of tweets primarily from Sanya's feed, but also include some from her followers. There are many tweets emphasised with hashtags such as #WeDemandChange and #QuestionsThatNeedAnswers. There are some big statements and strong opinions from both Sanya and her followers. We think it's great that more athletes are starting to speak up, but it change will not come with just one or two voices over Twitter. In reality it is unlikely we will see a major movements during the Olympics without any plan or organization around these questions that athletes would like answers to, however, the months after the Games will speak highly of how serious athletes are with regards to their concerns. We hope to see the momentum continue on and not fizzle out when attention towards track and field from the Olympics has died out.

Check out some of the interaction on Sanya's twitter below. Many fans showed positive support on Sanya's views while others reacted negatively to Sanya's opinions. Note: there is some strong language below.

Jimmy Carnes Invitational

VA Showcase

GVSU Bob Eubanks Open

TBD vs Moravian

Cardinal Track & Field Classic

BU Battle in Beantown

William Sutherland Invitational

GVSU Mike Lints Alumni Meet

RADD Sports Invitational

Dr. MLK Jr. Collegiate Invitational

BU John Thomas Terrier Classic

New Mexico Team Open

Legends of Alachua County Meet

World Athletics Indoor Tour: Ostrava

Celebration Pointe Indoor Classic

Sanya Richards-Ross speaks out about the Olympics

Sanya Richards-Ross speaks out about the Olympics