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Former U.S. Sprinter Michael Johnson's Comments to Daily Mail: Fair or Foul

Michael Johnson might be best know for his golden shoes he wore during the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. He is the only male athlete to ever win the 200-meter and 400-meters in the same games.

Johnson is currently working in England for the BBC as a commentator. He made some recent comments to British media outlet the Daily Mail, that has created some buzz.

The Daily Mail published comments made by Johnson about slavery and athletics. Here are a few quotes from the article:

‘All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it’s impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn’t left an imprint through the generations."

"Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me – I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us."

Are Johnson's comments fair or foul? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2167064/London-2012-Olympics-Michael-Johnson-descendants-slaves-medals-sprint-finals.html">Read the whole Daily Mail story here.

Johnson is not the first sports figure to make these claims. Former CBS Sports commentator and Las Vegas bookmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder made http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/almanac/video/1988/">similar comments in 1988.

ESPN did a 30 for 30 film on Snyder and his downfall after his comments.

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