Irate agent slams TV rumor mill
Jos Hermens, agent to several Olympic gold medal athletes, such as Ethiopia’s Kenenisha Bekele, slammed Greece’s private TV station Mega yesterday for spreading rumors about failed drug tests. Hermens was angry that Mega had implied that one of his clients, Cameroon’s women’s triple jump winner, Francoise Mbango Etone, had failed a drug test following her victory on Monday. «I spoke with Dr Gabriel Dolle of the IAAF this morning and he told me that, as of this morning, there were no new doping cases,» said the former world record-breaking runner. «This is all coming from a Greek TV station that no one knows. The rumors start, and then it becomes real, and goes all over the world.» Hermens said he did not plan to sue Mega. He revealed that Mbango had been extremely distressed when the rumors started circulating on Wednesday. «There’s personal damage and also financial damage,» said Hermens, acknowledging that it will be harder now to convince sponsors and meeting promoters that Mbango Etone is clean. (AFP)
