Adam Shefter just reported Lyles cancelling his 100 m race with Miami Dolphins NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Hill recently ran 10.15 and was one of the top ever 200 m high school guys.
Unless Lyles is injured, this is a bad missed opportunity for track and field and also makes Lyles, who talks a ton of crap to other sports, look like a bum.
He hasn't ran over 10.1 in years, he's not scared of Tyreek, he's scared of getting injured lmao
Put enough money on the table and Lyles will run
I should clarify, I don’t actually think he’s scared of losing. Lyles would smoke Tyreek. I was being silly with this username.
whatever the reason, it’s lame. How can a pro sprinter not run a 100 without risking injury?
it makes track look weak when Tyreek is “risking injury” running 100s while taking a beating in practice. It would be good for the sport and is a great opportunity wasted.
This is currently one of the lead articles on ESPN's website. Lyles says he's not doing it for personal reasons.
"We were very deep into creating the event," Lyles told reporters at the Stagwell Global Sport Beach event in Cannes, France. "In fact, it was supposed to happen this weekend.
"Unfortunately, there were some things, complications, personal reasons that it just didn't come to pass, but we were full on. We were going to shut down New York's Times Square and everything, it was going to be a lot of fun."
Here is Tyreek Hill's response:
Zapotes wrote:
He hasn't ran over 10.1 in years, he's not scared of Tyreek, he's scared of getting injured lmao
There are plenty of wheelchairs out there.
Just an absolutely brutal look.
McRunnin wrote:
Here is Tyreek Hill's response:
I have to admit I really laughed at that. I hope these guys can make it happen. It’s great for the sport.
SMH my head wrote:
Just an absolutely brutal look.
Agreed. People are having a field day with this on Twitter/X and deservedly so. If you're Lyles, you shouldn't back out of this race after all that trash talking without a better explanation than "personal reasons." It makes him and our entire sport look bad.
Reason #1,408,893 why football is so much better than running and always will be. Cope and seethe nerds, there is a reason women prefer REAL ballers.
Scared of cheetah wrote:
I should clarify, I don’t actually think he’s scared of losing. Lyles would smoke Tyreek. I was being silly with this username.
whatever the reason, it’s lame. How can a pro sprinter not run a 100 without risking injury?
it makes track look weak when Tyreek is “risking injury” running 100s while taking a beating in practice. It would be good for the sport and is a great opportunity wasted.
His sponsor wasn’t too excited about the matchup so maybe there was no money to be made. Absent money there was nothing for Lyles to win.
McRunnin wrote:
Agreed. People are having a field day with this on Twitter/X and deservedly so. If you're Lyles, you shouldn't back out of this race after all that trash talking without a better explanation than "personal reasons." It makes him and our entire sport look bad.
For someone who's so image-conscious, it's kinda wild he just didn't say "I'm injured, and I need to put everything into defending as fastest man in the world in Tokyo in September." The "personal reasons" thing makes him look like a dunce.
THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:
For someone who's so image-conscious, it's kinda wild he just didn't say "I'm injured, and I need to put everything into defending as fastest man in the world in Tokyo in September." The "personal reasons" thing makes him look like a dunce.
Yeah, especially after the wheelchair scene at the Olympics and then getting spotted a few nights later at an after-party. Add backing out of the race against Tyreek to those two episodes, and that's three major public optics hits in less than a year. I tried defending him for the first two; this latest one is indefensible.
Lyles will always command respect in the general public as a 100m Olympic champ, but he's really been misstepping since winning that title, and his missteps are going to be part of the narrative about him.
Olympic champ finishes 30 meters ahead of a much slower football player. Super boring.
What's the point of racing, is it for charity?
it's science wrote:
Olympic champ finishes 30 meters ahead of a much slower football player. Super boring.
What's the point of racing, is it for charity?
It was only going to be a 50-meter race. I think the point was fun and promoting the sport. I love the intention they had to hold it in Times Square. A race between the Olympic champ and the NFL's cheetah at a well-known place like that would have received more interest and attention in the U.S. than any Diamond League or Grand Slam Track meet. A huge opportunity missed.
Nothing scares a 9.7 sprinter more than a 31 year old footballer with a 10.15 PR,
Personal Reasons = $$$
Joplas wrote:
Put enough money on the table and Lyles will run
Unless he can’t.
