VIA: Elev8.com
Just about the only thing that was able to catch up with Olympian Marion Jones was the law. Now John Singleton’s new film, “Press Pause,” examines the long, glorious, ultimately tarnished career of the track and field superstar and asks: should she be forgiven? The documentary debuted Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN as part of its “30-for-30” series.
Through interviews with her coaches, teammates, attorney, husband and sportswriters, Singleton takes viewers on the roller-coaster ride which has been Jones’ life. The movie follows her from budding track and basketball star at the University of North Carolina to becoming the first woman to win five medals (three gold, two bronze) at a single Olympics to accusations of doping, lying to federal investigators, imprisonment and finally, comeback. Jones, now age 35, is currently a guard on the Tulsa Shock WNBA team, and a mother of three. Her second autobiography, “On the Right Track,” was recently released by Simon and Schuster.
While Singleton’s portrait of a woman trying to put the pieces of her life back together is compelling, the film shies away from the two lingering questions at the crux of Jones’ story: what role did racism and sexism play in her conviction and is she still not telling the whole truth about her steroid use?
