Brooks Johnson--dumb quote

and meseret defar and worknesh kidane have never and will never be in a scandal, they are just good people.

I also thought his overly broad comment about psychosis and neurosis was way off the mark.

I was a bit suprised he divulged the conversation he had with SFH's school counselor when he tried to recruit her.

"I'm from Stanford."

"Don't bother."

Harsh.

Brooks is making a common mistake: viewing others through the prism of his own psyche.

Plus, I know a number of people who were coached by him. None had anything positive to say.

He's not the first person to say that genius or great accomplishments come from people who are so gifted that they make the rest of the population look "normal"

It's called being an outlier. The price you pay for being a legend.

gmbnmnb wrote:

He's not the first person to say that genius or great accomplishments come from people who are so gifted that they make the rest of the population look "normal"

It's called being an outlier. The price you pay for being a legend.

Without a doubt, the drive to be great in athletics, science, art, whatever is not normal. Greatness, by definition, is only achieved by outliers. However, to make the blanket statement that all the people on the podium at the olympics are a**holes, antisocial, neurotic, obsessive compulsive, or whatever is totally irresponsible.

Brooks is an a**hole that thinks he is the greatest coach in the history of sport. He simply cannot see that there are people out there that can succeed AND lead responsible, adult lives.

Brooks Johnson--dumb

Fixed it.

It follows that any quote coming from a gibbering simpleton is also dumb.

Brooks Johnson is a con artist who has no business near T&F and would in fact be right at home as the dictator of a banana republic. When it comes to track, this archidiot even makes Owen Anderson look he's got a reasonable idea or two. The fact that a buffoon like this was even considered for a "coach of the year" award also puts on display the corruption and ineptitude of USATF.

Agreed. Running for Brooks was truly the single worst experience of my life. I know people get tired of Brooks-bashing, but there really isn't enough scorn that can be heaped on him. The only person I've known in my lifetime (who I've interacted with on any regular basis) who I truly hate.

Sweet Nell Fenwick wrote:

Brooks Johnson--dumb

Fixed it.

It follows that any quote coming from a gibbering simpleton is also dumb.

Brooks Johnson is a con artist who has no business near T&F and would in fact be right at home as the dictator of a banana republic. When it comes to track, this archidiot even makes Owen Anderson look he's got a reasonable idea or two. The fact that a buffoon like this was even considered for a "coach of the year" award also puts on display the corruption and ineptitude of USATF.

Brooks say things. He's done it for a generation. I found some of his comments on Hamilton insightful.

He's not a psychiatrist and doesn't claim to be. Let's just say Suzy is more complicated than I thought she was.

This guy says some really weird sh&t

Tom Joad wrote:

This guy says some really weird sh&t

No weirder than some of the crazy shit you've posted on this site...only to see it rightfully deleted.

I'm glad to see a nearly unanimous consensus so far on what a complete failure of a human being Brooks Johnson is. I'm really disappointed the brojos thought any of the fecal matter generated by his lizard brain was quote worthy.

Here's my take on Brooks:

He implies that some of these high level athletes can't cope after their athletic careers end and must continue to find a way to stay in the limelight. That they must continue to have an outlet. How about you Brooks. Why must you continue to comment on things you have no business commenting on? Maybe it's because you find yourself needing attention? Are you suffering from the same issues as SFH? As you can see from the comments here, everyone would prefer you STFU and go away!!

If you think our sport isn't in trouble just look at how USATF puts this guy on a pedestal. Wow, just anyone ever coached by him.

It seems like a lot of the negativity towards Johnson are personal. But there's a kernal of truth in what he's saying. Any self-conscious and serious distance runner will tell you that what we do DOES have elements of neuroticism. Why don't we just OWN IT and be proud of our absolute commitment to achieving an ideal that most people will never understand, but which helps us cope with eevryday life.

While I do not agree with everything in the original post, I agree with this poster's succinct comment. All I read was the Quote of the Day, not the article, but I could not help but wonder what former athletes coached by Johnson, including PattiSue Plummer and Butch reynolds, thought when they read the quote. With SFH's sensational disclosure, I suppose everyone now has something to say.

Strom jr. wrote:

front page of LRC--Brooks Johnson--(my father was coached by this guy, the most over-rated of all coaches)

IN FACT there are numerous "boy scouts" and "girl scouts" on the premiere podiums of human accomplishment-

how about: Neil Armstrong, Steve Cram, Edmund Hillary, Roger Bannister, Frank Shorter...i could go on.

I had a world-class runner friend tell me he did a speaking engagement with Frank Shorter and that Frank was very elitist and made fun of fat women. So, he's not totally perfect.

qoqoqoqoqoq wrote:

Strom jr. wrote:

front page of LRC--Brooks Johnson--(my father was coached by this guy, the most over-rated of all coaches)

IN FACT there are numerous "boy scouts" and "girl scouts" on the premiere podiums of human accomplishment-

how about: Neil Armstrong, Steve Cram, Edmund Hillary, Roger Bannister, Frank Shorter...i could go on.

I had a world-class runner friend tell me he did a speaking engagement with Frank Shorter and that Frank was very elitist and made fun of fat women. So, he's not totally perfect.

Sounds perfect for letsrun.

Brooks is really not saying anything unusual, is he? We've all known the greats are a little off, and frankly it takes being so to do extraordinary things. One's personality must be obsessive, straight on, and a bit different than typical athletes. Why trash him for saying what seems trivial? The best are odd in ways we honor.

Whatever people think of him personally doesn't negate the essence of his statement. I think he is right on the mark and naturally i wouldn't classify all "greats" as mal adjusted, but experience has shown that there is a general truth to what he is saying. At the end of the day, I feel his interpretation of Suzie is dead on and that the demons that made her and others great are also the elements of self destructive acts given the circumstances in that persons life. I think it was a kind and humanistic view of the situation.