What was clear over the course of those three days was that the pro runner just wants to do what he loves and all we want to do is fault him for it. Over the weekend, during all the press events at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, I saw a side of Rupp that differed from not only what has been written about him but also how he came off in Boston last April. If you’re reading this article though, you likely already knew all of this. So far, Rupp has never tested positive for PEDs. Again, in 2017, The New York Timesfurthered those doping allegations and called out Salazar as violating drug protocols with his elite runners. He’s also coached by Alberto Salazar, the infamous name behind the Nike Oregon Project, a training group that has been in the news since 2015 when ProPublica and the BBC stated that its athletes were being investigated for illegal performance-enhancing drugs. America loves a good punching bag, and the less access we have to a public figure, the less real they become in our minds, and the easier to… well, punch. It’s this separation from the running community that may be part of the problem. Yet with Rupp, you can’t really say it’s because his off-screen personality is offensive or that he’s not a team player in fact, his teammates seem to really like and respect him.įor his part, the Nike athlete is known for rarely giving interviews and choosing family instead of spending time on social media. Oftentimes, when great athletes aren’t adored by fans, it’s because their personal lives are messy and disappointing or, how they act on the court, in the ring or on the field, makes them unlikeable. When you talk about athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Floyd Mayweather or Tom Brady, their names alone elicit feelings of excitement and pride, or you immediately begin to think of all the reasons why they are the worst. Although he’s one of the best American distance runners of his generation, the running world has a hard time rooting for him.
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