Bad blood. Lyles shoved by Bednarek after his win in 200 meters at US nationals
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
The shove seen 'round the track world: Bad sportsmanship, or just good theatre?
First, if we can agree that you can't put your hands on people, on purpose, in anger, after the whistle, in a non-contact sport, then we can also recognize that the only person who crossed a bright red ethical line at the USATF Championships men's 200-metre final was silver medallist Kenny Bednarek, who delivered a two-handed shove to champion Noah Lyles a few strides past the finish line. Even if you think Lyles cut Bednarek off in post-race traffic (fact check: he didn't), or that Lyles showboated down the home stretch (reality check: he did, but so what?), it doesn't justify the push. Not among adults paid to settle their differences on the track. If you defend Bednarek's actions on Saturday, you might as well cape up for the Texas Rangers sending Rougned Odor to cold-cock José Bautista back in 2016. Yes, I know the old bromide that Hurt People hurt people, but in the context of pro sports, hurt people also need to grow up. But second – I empathize with Bednarek. He dominated the early season, going 6-for-6 in short sprints during the aborted Grand Slam Track season, and nobody outside the track world noticed. This past weekend in Eugene, Ore., he ran a scorching 9.79 seconds to win U.S. trials at 100 metres, and the mainstream sports media didn't care. But on Sunday he shoved Lyles, and landed on ESPN Sportscenter's Instagram feed, then earned a spot on NBC Nightly News. The message here is both mixed and plainly discouraging: If you're a world class sprinter in the U.S., there's more publicity in losing your cool than there is in being great at your job. As an isolated incident, it's amazing news for the sport's profile in the U.S. Sizzling hot beef between medal contenders in a high-wattage event, and built-in subplot for the 4x100 relay, where Lyles and Bednarek, presumably, will have to function as a team. After bickering for six weeks, can they co-operate for a little over 37 seconds? We all want to find out. Was Noah Lyles' stare down of Kenny Bednarek offside? 8 minutes ago But as a precedent, it's unsettling. If you can punish poor sportsmanship with even worse sportsmanship, then sportsmanship is dead. After the race, Bednarek, the 200-metres silver medalilst at last summer's Olympics, still fuming from the race and its aftermath, lashed out at Lyles again, criticizing his breaches of on-track etiquette. There's the idea that Lyles cherry-picked this matchup – Bednarek had already run five races that week while Lyles, who dropped out after the 100-metre prelims, had only run twice, and entered Sunday with much fresher legs. Underpinning all of it is a running conflict over Track Spice, a now-defunct Twitter account that gossiped about sprinters. Including Lyles. Especially Lyles. Rumours have swirled that either Bednarek or his girlfriend, operated the burner account. Bednarek denies the main allegations, but the resentment appears to remain. That might explain Lyles' late-race staredown, and his demand, caught on hot mic after the finish line, that Bednarek apologize. But as he vented to reporters, Bednarek made plain that the real transgression was Lyles' finish line side-eye. "Noah's going to be Noah," Bednarek said. "If he wants to stare me down, that's fine." Right here, we don't know if Bednarek is lying, because we don't know his heart, or his intent, and so we can't say for sure that he wanted to deceive us. But we know he's not telling the truth. It's not the exact species of false statement as " I tested positive because of a tainted burrito," or "Haitian Immigrants are eating your pets," but it's the same genus. Demonstrably untrue. You don't shove somebody if you're fine with their behaviour. You shove them because they're all the way under your skin, which helps explain why it never occurred to Bednarek to serve vigilante justice after the Olympic 200 metre final, where Letsile Tebogo garnished his gold medal run with a late-race celebration. However you might characterize the relationship between Bednarek and Lyles, you wouldn't describe it as "fine." Was Lyles' sideways glare over the top? Of course it was, but that was the point. He could have finished the fast break with a layup, but opted for a Vince Carter, reverse-rotation 360 windmill dunk instead. Both worth two points, but only one sends a message. Was it poor sportsmanship? Sure, and if this were a high school meet, maybe some overzealous race marshall could have DQ'd Lyles for hurting Bednarek's feelings. It cost one sprinter a Maryland state title in 2023, and another a high school gold medal in California this spring. Youth sports, in theory, exist in part to convey life lessons, like humility in victory and defeat, and the idea that effort trumps outcome. But this is pro sports, which is a show. And it's Noah Lyles, who is a star. He grandstands and he seeks the spotlight. He talks big and delivers on the track, and if you're one of his rivals (Bednarek is 2-12 lifetime against Lyles at 200 metres), I can understand how the Noah Lyles Experience could work your last nerve. But Lyles entertains. Reeling Bednarek in over the final 80 metres was sport. The side-eyed staredown in the final strides was theatre. Over the top, but, like Bautista's bat flip or Deion Sanders high-stepping into the end zone, it's part of the spectacle. Sometimes you wind up on another athlete's highlight reel, but you eat the loss and you move on. You know who understands that dynamic? Lyles, who lost to Oblique Seville last June in Kingston, Jamaica, enduring a similar icy glare from Seville just before the finish line. Sometimes you're stunting, and other times you get stunted on. At the top level of the sport, everybody gets it eventually. None of it merits corporal punishment. Those rules don't change for Lyles, whose sense for drama is as fine-tuned as his top-end speed. If Netflix had commissioned a third season of Sprint, they could have spun a whole episode out of those 30 seconds. Bednarek recently withdrew from a Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was scheduled to clash with Lyles and Jamaican phenom Kishane Thompson over 100 metres. But world championships loom in September, and, if everyone stays healthy, we might see Lyles and Bednarek rematch two more times, while also dealing with Thompson, the current 100-metre world leader, and Tebogo. All of those matchups are thrilling as contests, but even more intriguing as climaxes to a months-long drama. That flare-up between Lyles and Bednarek gave us a late-season plot twist that can propel this whole enterprise to the finish line.
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