Lolo Jones breaks down on 'The Today Show' over US media ripping her (Video)
Last weekend, the New York Times published a piece that many believe was extremely unfair to US Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones. The heading of the article said it all: “For Lolo Jones, Everything is Image.” It compared Jones to women’s tennis star Anna Kournikova, making the point that her personal affairs and good looks have made her a popular topic of discussion — not her accomplishments on the track. As you might expect, the piece greatly upset Jones.
“I think it was crazy just because it was two days before I competed, and then the fact that it was from a US media,’’ Jones said on The Today Show as she nearly broke into tears. “They should be supporting our US Olympic athletes and instead they just ripped me to shreds. I just thought that that was crazy because I worked six days a week, every day, for four years for a 12-second race and the fact that they just tore me apart, which is heartbreaking.
“They didn’t even do their research, calling me the Anna Kournikova of track. I have the American record. I am the American record holder indoors, I have two world indoor titles. Just because I don’t boast about these things, I don’t think I should be ripped apart by media. I laid it out there, fought hard for my country and it’s just a shame that I have to deal with so much backlash when I’m already so brokenhearted as it is.”
Jones has an infectious personality and a great sense of humor. She has openly discussed how she has remained a virgin and told interviewers what she is looking for in a man. She has even joked about being linked to Tim Tebow, whereas some may have taken offense to the notion that two virgins are destined to be with one another.
On Tuesday, Lolo tweeted that she had a “broken heart” after failing to medal in her race by one-tenth of a second. The race itself was the fastest in Olympic history. She finished eighth in her race at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but only after clipping the final hurdle. Jones was leading up to that point, so obviously she is more than just a pretty face. The New York Timesclearly did Jones and Team USA no favors by voicing a different opinion.
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You go girl! Ignore the haters. You rock.
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Seriously Lolo, quit your crying and move on. You're a public figure and you need to learn to deal with the compliments as well as the criticism! When things were good you had no problem taking endorsement deals and appearing on the talk-show circuit. I understand you were the media darling for a while but when things don't go your way you need to learn to deal with it and take it in stride and not play the "feel sorry for me" victim! You are an amazing athlete and competitor stick with talking about that and not playing the victim, you'll gain more respect in the end.
BTW....I say this not as a bystandar but someone that has also gone through a similar situation! -
That is the media : they lift you up, and when there is a slow news day, they pound on you.
Lolo deserves lots of recognition because of her health situations in the past ,and her determination to be in the olympics. Nobody gave her anything. She earned. The reporter that trashed her gets paid to trash people. Go Lolo!! you are admired by the people who counts , never mind the bozos at the media that strive to create news. -
AMERICA is good for stabbing its own in the back ..... LOL.... Glad i'm not one.
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Guess Lolo isn't a virgin anymore since the American media all but raped her in the news. Hope she tells her ungrateful teamates who also blasted her to stick it in their ass with their gold medals. She shouldn't waste her time, talent, and money on these assholes.
She's an estremely attractive lady and I hope and wish the very best for her in the future. W'ish that I was about 45-50 years younger, I would chase after her even though I probably wouldn't come near to catching up with her.... -
Marry me, Lolo!
