Disgraced American track star Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday.

The sentence, handed down by United States District Judge Kenneth Karas, stemmed from Jones’ admission to lying about steroid use and check fraud.

Jones, 31, denied using performance-enhancing drugs during a 2003 grand jury investigation into BALCO, a San Francisco area lab linked to the steroids scandal in sports.

But the five-time Olympic medal winner retired in October after pleading guilty to two charges of lying to federal investigators.

Judge Karas said he sentenced Jones to the maximum sentence in order to “send a message” to other athletes.

I think we have too many judges in this country that believe their job is to “send messages” rather than just following the law. Jones has been disgraced, stripped of her medals, and her name has been wiped from the history books.

A prison sentence on top of all that is unnecessary and excessive.

-Chris Jones