Two reasons to cheer for Lolo Jones
Faith News Note,
Winter U.S. Olympian Lolo Jones is finding a fan base in the faith community, not just for her inspirational story but because of her values which she has shared and been publicly harassed for. During the summer 2012 Olympics, Lolo Jones made a statement about her personal choice to remain a virgin (at then age 29) until marriage. Lolo Jones was mocked by the media and pundits. Former NFL quarterback Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner came to her defense by saying the media “ready to pounce” on her. Warner further stated, “Our culture has become a culture of, instead of looking at the positives, we’re always looking for the negatives. How do you disregard somebody who goes to the Olympics, especially someone who goes to the Olympics from the United States?”
Many find Lolo Jones to be the role model for teens that we wish more celebrities would be when it comes to sexuality.
The other part of the inspirational story is that Lolo finished in 4th place in the Summer Olympics and missed that medal by hair. Now she is among the few elite athletes to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. This time she has qualified to join the U.S. bobsled team. Once again the critics have pounced to stay that she is publicity seeking. Yet, publicity is a useful bonus for her team. Where else have you heard news of the US women’s bobsled team? I saw this play out when the Today Show interviewed Lolo and she went out of the way to pull in her entire team to introduce them during the interview.
With publicity comes sponsorships which help reward teams and such resources help teams win. If you wish to see publicity at play, look at the once popular ice skating championships where Bloomberg News has rated the sports popularity at a new multi-decade low. The US Olympians need all the attention they can get.
Below is a video of her story:
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