Solomon Haile (Age)

He looks even older than 21. If he were white he would be suspended until a full investigation was conducted. However, being non-white, best of all, being black, which makes one immune from criticism from the PC folks, he's let slide. Sure, the public may complain, but the folks in charge will bend both ways to make sure a poor third worlder gets his "chance". AHahahahahahahahhahhahaaa...you people will never wake up.

Good point "say what?", and you too "Lancedalot". Finally some guys making sense. Who cares if Haile didn't actually take any money, but simply put the checks in a shoebox and let them expire. He actually took them when handed to him. That rat! And who cares that officials pursued school records from Ethiopia that sync up with the birth certificate he provided, he still LOOKS like he could be older than 18. And darn it, did anyone else notice that Ethiopians won the 5K AND the 10K at the Olympics this year? And 3 of the top 6 finishers in each race were Ethiopians! What's up with that? Are we supposed to believe Ethiopians destroy Americans at the high school level, AND at the Olympic level in those events? Preposterous! If they were white guys someone would be looking hard at this conspiracy.

i feel like his lackluster college career supports the idea that he's older than he claims

Lol, I was just thinking about former Maryland running standouts on the morning run and thought about how I haven't heard crap about him for a couple of years. I guess most people do peak around their 30s.

Wow, that was one hell of a bump.

dood2899 wrote:

i feel like his lackluster college career supports the idea that he's older than he claims

He has had modest success, but honestly he was the best runner in a weak year.

He worked it. Good for him.

I ran a race in 1/2007 that he won. He was 18 then, if not older.

Nobody in Montgomery County believed he was 18 when he was running there 18 months later. But he produced the minimum documentation, and was able to slide with "D+" paperwork.

Then he got a full ride to a University, and again probably did the bare minimum to keep his scholarship.

This was a plan, and he executed. I'd reckon his grades are a far sight better than his running (unlike most Americans given a similar shot).

He is from an elite upper class family - he was not some starving kid who was saved from the streets of Addis.

Did Solomon Haile's birth certificate ever match up with DOB on his passport. I understood he was unwilling to have his passport verified by school district officials.

Did U. of Arkansas admissions ever verify his date of birth?

I had not seen this article on Sol Haile but I am not surprised. Unethical coaches at the college level, and, yes, even at the high school level, are resorting to this sort of infuriating recruitment to stack the decks in their favor by creating an uneven playing field. The upshot? All of the hard working, legitimate American runners are being victimized by a fraud of the most insidious nature that deprives them of recognition, scholarships, and the sense of fair play and legitimacy that arises when you know the playing field is level. And no one is doing squat about it. The NCAA and, at the high school level, the counterpart regulatory body, must take steps to root out the recruitment of non-US, professional runners in our amateur American high school and college running scene, now, before the entire system collapses under the weight of this charade. I would go so far as to say no non-US runner should be eligible to compete in any state or national level high school or college event. Period. The US amateur running scene should be for US runners, not these interlopers. Just my two cents worth. Am I wrong? Serious responses only, please.

Sportsmanship, First wrote:

...the most insidious nature...

O rly?