Lolo Jones Fight: No Discipline For Bar Brawl After Rachel Jeantel Twitter Controversy
Olympic athlete Lolo Jones will not be sanctioned for her July 12 bar fight with a Hall of Fame coach's stepdaughter.
The U.S. Bobsled and Skelton Federation investigated Jones, 30, for an alleged physical altercation she head with the stepdaughter of bobsled coach Tony Carlino. Carlino's daughter, who remains unidentified, allegedly insulted Jones at Roomers Night Club in Lake Placid, NY on Friday at 1 a.m. EST. Jones was in Lake Placid to train for the 2014 Winter Olympics and reportedly pushed the coach's stepdaughter after she insulted her at the club.
Darrin Steele, the chief executive officer of USBSF, told Associated Press that Jones did not violate any laws during the brief incident, so the governing body will not sanction her.
Steele did say that if the organization discovered new information about the altercation, the decision by the USBSF could change.
"That could change if new information emerges, but I'm not expecting that to happen at this point," Steele said Tuesday. "It's a good reminder of why our athletes need to avoid putting themselves in situations where things like this can happen."
Carlino reported the incident to the USBSF, according to Associate Press. The Hall of Famer manages the venue where the Olympic U.S. bobsled, skeleton and luge team live.
Jones dew criticism last month when she made controversial comments about the Trayvon Martin case. Jones was chided after she wrote an insensitive comment on Twitter about Rachel Jeantel, who gave testimony in the case. The Olympic athlete compared the Florida prosecutor's key witness to filmmaker Tyler Perry's Madea character.
"Rachel Jeantel looked so irritated during the cross-examination that I burned it on DVD and I'm going to sell it as Madea goes to court," Jones wrote on the social media site on June 27.
View the screen grab of Lolo Jones Twitter comment about Rachel Jeantel here.
Enstarz reported that Jeantel responded to Jones' comment. She said in an interview that did not bother her and called the track star a "hater."
"Lolo Jones, I thought of her as a joke. She's funny," Jeantel said. "Now you tell me, I'm going to make a runner hating on me. I felt good, I had a runner hating on me. She's saying I act like Madea," she added, "Okay, Madea got her money too. We need to work together."
