As she gets ready to take to the track after months of Olympics buildup, Lolo Jones was the subject of a not-so-flattering New York Times feature this weekend. The Times takes her to task for A) being overrated as a runner, B) being more famous than she deserves C) her honesty about her virginity, and D) appearing on magazine covers in suggestive poses.
Lolo Jones, The New York Times, And The Tweet That Explains Everything
Some of it might be fair criticism but, taken as a whole, it’s pretty ruthless. Then, toward the end of the piece, there’s this:
In recent days, Jones has been criticized for what many have called an insensitive Twitter remark in the wake of the mass shooting in a theater in Aurora, Colo. After the United States lost the gold medal to Italy in the team archery competition, Jones wrote, "When’s da Gun shooting competition?"
She clarified her remark, saying she was referring to American pre-eminence in hunting, which she had done with Southerners. (Jones attended Louisiana State in a state known as the Sportsman’s Paradise.)
Well, okay: That does actually make her sound pretty insensitive and obnoxious. Of course, as Deadspin points out, the tweet came a full week after the Aurora shooting, and included more context:
USA Men's Archery lost the gold medal to Italy but that's ok, we are Americans... When's da Gun shooting competition?
— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) July 28, 2012
When you frame it like THAT, it’s pretty clear she’s talking about our Olympic team.
So, anyway, if the Times’ concluding things with a misleading Twitter anecdote feels unfair, unprofessional, and a little bizarre, well... when you break it down, that’s pretty much the entire 1,000-word article from Jere Longman and the New York Times, so maybe the ending was perfect.
See More:
