According to Espn.com, The WNBA’s Tulsa Shock will hold a news conference this morning (Wed., Mar. 10) to announce the signing of former track star Marion Jones. Jones, now 34, worked out for Shock coach Nolan Richardson on Saturday.
Jones was released in September 2008 from a Texas federal prison after completing most of her six-month sentence for lying about doping and her role in a check-fraud scam.
After long denying she had ever used performance-enhancing drugs, Jones admitted in federal court that she used a designer steroid from September 2000 to July 2001. She was stripped of three gold medals and two bronzes she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Jones is attempting her athletic comeback just eight months after giving birth to her third child.
“I started to think about wanting to get back into the world of sport last year,” Jones said, according to the Tulsa World. after a high-intensity workout with Ashley Golston, Chelsea Ledbetter and Verressa Gaston and in front of Richardson and Shock assistants Wayne Stehlik and Tammy Bagby. “I have an enormous passion for the game of basketball and I felt like I still had something to contribute to the world of sports.
Jones has not played basketball since leaving North Carolina in 1997, choosing instead to concentrate on her track career. But as a freshman point guard with the Tar Heels, she helped UNC win a national title in 1994.
Jones was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in 2003.
Information from Espn.com and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
