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Jan 5, 2020

We are excited to kick off a new decade of fighting for clean sport with this powerful episode. Some use the word whistleblower, but we prefer to use the word truth-teller to describe our next guest - Steve Magness.

Steve was a precocious talent as a runner in high school and college with a 4:01 personal best in the mile. Along the way, he developed an interest in coaching and that led him down a path to become an assistant coach alongside Alberto Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project (NOP). Little did he know that joining the NOP would change his life forever because of what he saw and experienced there.

Chris and Kara talk with Steve about those experiences including his initial impressions of Salazar and the early warning signs that his methods might be suspicious. We discuss what led Steve to be a guinea pig in Salazar's experiments with L-Carnitine injections, including Steve's long-time relationship with Dr. Brown (who administered the injections) that dated back to his high school years.

We learn about the moment that Steve decided that he had to leave the NOP and what it was like to come forward to USADA and eventually the public with the truth.

From there, Steve shares his reactions to the doping bans handed down to Salazar and Dr. Brown as well as what he would like to see Nike do in order to dramatically change the culture in our sport for the better. 

In this interview, Steve discusses stories and perspectives about his journey that we had never before heard. We can't thank him enough for everything he has done to tell the truth, do what's right, and therefore make a huge difference in the fight for clean sport in spite of the risk of great personal sacrifice.