Alysia Montano Thinks Gatlin, Gay Should Be Banned From Olympics

Alysia Montano Thinks Gatlin, Gay Should Be Banned From Olympics

Alysia Montano told reporters at the Team USA media summit that she believes the U.S. should ban athletes who have failed drug tests from competing in the O

Mar 8, 2016 by Meg Bellino
Alysia Montano Thinks Gatlin, Gay Should Be Banned From Olympics
Alysia Montano told reporters at the Team USA media summit that she believes the U.S. should ban athletes who have failed drug tests from competing in the Olympics, including sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay.

The media summit, happening in Los Angeles this week, features the U.S.’s top athletes across all Olympic and Paralympic events. Track and field’s best, including Montano, Ashton Eaton and Allyson Felix, have been posing for photos, giving interviews and snap chatting for fans around the world.

Seven time U.S. champion Montano voiced her opinion during one of track and field’s darkest times. A victim of the Russian doping scandal (She could receive four medals, new and upgraded, due to athletes’ failed drug tests), Montano said she believes Gatlin and Gay should be not be able to compete in the upcoming Rio Olympics.

“Excuses are like — well, you know what the saying is. Everyone’s got one. I think you are 100 percent held accountable for what you put in your body. You can’t say ‘Oh someone gave me a massage’ or ‘Oh I didn’t know.’ They have a list of what you can and cannot take. These people just want to play the naive card and we’re too old for that. We’re not in pre-school. Sorry… I don’t care if that’s a bold statement, it’s true.”

Gatlin has served two doping bans, while Gay served a one-year sentence. Both are still competing and are prominent members of the U.S. 4x100m relay team. Gatlin finished second in both the 100m and 200m behind Usain Bolt at the 2015 World Championships, while Gay took sixth in the 100m.

Montano spoke to Taylor Dutch of FloTrack on November 10, just one day after the World Anti Doping Agency's report on the systematic doping in Russian athletics. She was emotional about the report, referencing all the difficulties she has faced as an athlete to compete at the highest level, yet is forced to compete against those who cheat.