Flipping for FloJo

While Florence Griffith Joyner was on stage introducing the various acts participating in the Harvard Cultural Rythyms show on Sunday, two little girls from the Mission Hill projects were talking about their Olympic idol.

"She is so beautiful," Michelle said.

"I want to grow up to be just like FloJo," Kimberly said.

This was refreshing to hear. Athletes such as Dwight Gooden, Wade Boggs and Lawrence Taylor have degraded their sports and let down their admirers. Gooden and Taylor used cocaine, and Boggs was a self-proclaimed "sex-addict". But FloJo is both a model for track and for kids.

Sometimes Black athletes are categorized as role models for only Blacks. FloJo's popularity, however, is not limited to Black youth. FloJo is a role model for all kids.

Joyner was the guest host of the fourth-annual Harvard Cultural Rhythms show. She was down to earth and a pleasure to meet. She hasn't become overwhelmed by the publicity and attention that surrounds her.

Joyner's not on an ego trip like past Olympic winners. She didn't have 20 bodyguards pushing away autograph-seekers. She was just with her husband, Al Joyner. She signed autograph after autograph, and took picture after picture. She is a charismatic person.

There is more to FloJo than running. She plans to devote her time to writing children books, acting and designing clothes. She has already written 10 books and plans to star as a female "007" in an upcoming movie. FloJo is also going to appear in a fashion spread in Vogue.

Hey, kids, FloJo is going to be in Vogue, not Playboy. Michael Jackson's little sister was once seen as a role model for kids. But, of course, we've seen more of LaToya than we ever thought we would.

Some of FloJo's peers have made wild accusations about her use of steroids. Two months after the Olympics, Carl Lewis suggested that Joyner took substances banned by the International Olympic Committee.

"I think it's just petty jealously," Joyner said. "The same thing happened to Carl in 1983. He was on top and people accused him of taking drugs. He overlooked it and went on with his life--just like I'm doing."

"Prior to the Olympic games, he said that he admired my sister-in-law [Jackie Joyner Kersee] and myself," Joyner added.

Talk to her husband, Al. He thinks Lewis' accusations are ludicrous.

"It's stupid," Al Joyner said. "[He] came back to America and there weren't any great things happening for Carl Lewis. Then these accusations came up. When Ben Johnson got caught in that situation, Lewis didn't have anything to say."

"After two months and everything has gone by, you get back to America and you're not the American darling," Joyner continued. "You don't have any endorsements. You say, `Hey, I'm going to throw some names out there because I don't want anyone else to get them.' It's just petty jealousy. It's sad that it's in our sport."

Unlike Lewis, FloJo has a personality and a likeable style. Lewis is an arrogrant crybaby. He didn't get any endorsements because no one likes him.

FloJo just didn't pop up and win three gold medals and a silver in the 1988 Olympics. She missed making the 1980 team by a couple of spots. In 1984, she won the silver medal in the 200 meters and was ready to become a superstar. In 1988, she proved she was the fastest woman in the world, breaking two records.

FloJo decided to retire a couple of days ago. And I, for one, think that she retired at the right time. She's leaving the track world on top. She would have been 33 years old when the 1992 Olympics rolled around.

Look at what happened to Lewis. He won four gold medals in 1984, but at the age of 27, Lewis lost in the 200 meters in Seoul to a 22-year-old runner by the name of Joe Deloach. There is always someone to knock you off.

Many athletes don't know when to retire. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mary Decker-Slaney are two that come to mind.

But FloJo is going out like she came in: a winner.