May 15 - Disgraced athlete Marion Jones played for less than four minutes and failed to score a point on her Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) debut tonight.



Jones, who won an NCAA championship for North Carolina in college, made her return to basketball after more than a decade away.

The 34-year-old, who was stripped of her five Olympic medals, including three golds, she won at Sydney in 2000 and served time in prison for lying to federal investigators over her steroid use, was on court for just three minutes and 19 seconds as the Tulsa Shock lost 80-74 to the Minnesota Lynx in their season opener.

A personal foul was Jones' only statistical contribution to the game.

She said: "I'm not disappointed,".

"When I came here, I said, 'However coach wants me, whichever role he wants me to fill'.

"I'm learning things as I go.

"I know it's going to take time for things to come together for me."


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January 2010: David Owen - Can Marion Jones make the transition from drugs cheat to basketball star?
December 2009: British coach could oversee Jones basketball return