Nike investigating “troubling” allegations by Mary Cain

November 8, 2019

Nike said it is investigating allegations by runner Mary Cain, who claimed in a New York Times article that she suffered mental distress and physical injuries while being trained by coach Alberto Salazar at the company’s now disbanded Oregon Project.

Cain told the paper she broke five bones after being pressured by Salazar, who has been suspended for four years for multiple anti-doping rules violations, to lose weight. She also claimed to have had “suicidal thoughts” and to have cut herself during her time at the Nike Project because of what she describes as the abusive training regimen.

“We take the allegations extremely seriously and will launch an immediate investigation to hear from former Oregon Project athletes,” Nike said in an emailed statement to CBS MoneyWatch. “At Nike we seek to always put the athlete at the center of everything we do, and these allegations are completely inconsistent with our values.”

I wanted closure, wanted an apology for never helping me when I was cutting, and in my own, sad, never-fully healed heart, wanted Alberto to still take me back. I still loved him. Because when we let people emotionally break us, we crave more than anything their very approval.

— Mary Cain (@runmarycain) November 8, 2019

Nike also claimed in the statement that the “deeply troubling allegations” had not been raised previously by Cain or her parents.

“Mary was seeking to rejoin the Oregon Project and Alberto’s team as recently as April of this year and had not raised these concerns as part of that process,” Nike said.

In a tweet on Friday alluding to Salazar, Cain said she “wanted an apology for never helping me when I was cutting, and in my own said, never fully-healed heart, wanted Alberto to still take me back.”