Salazar denies athletes abuse claims in Nike Oregon Project

Disgraced running coach Alberto Salazar denied subjecting former members of his Nike Oregon Project to abuse or gender discrimination on Tuesday but admitted using “callous” language against athletes in the training group. Another former runner, Olympian Amy Begley, said Salazar barred her from the training group in 2011, complaining she was “too fat” and “had the biggest butt on the starting line.” In a statement to The Oregonian newspaper Tuesday, Salazar acknowledged using insensitive language but insisted it was part and parcel of life as an elite athlete. “I do dispute, however, the notion that any athlete suffered any abuse or gender discrimination while running for the Oregon Project.” Salazar said his emphasis on weight was related to “what target training weight and performance weight should be to attain peak performance while maintaining an overall good well-being.” “That’s part of elite sport,” Salazar said. Indeed, I have always treated men and women similarly in this regard -- to treat my female athletes differently I believe would not be in their personal interests or in the interests of promoting their best athletic performance.” Nike shut down the Oregon Project in October when Salazar was banned for four years for an array of doping offenses that included trafficking in testosterone, tampering with the doping control process and administering illicit infusions of the fat-burning substance L-carnitine.