Track and field: A sport known to many across the globe as the most popular Olympic sport.  Track and field is a unique sport in which individual athlete complete within their respective countries, and the best of the best are then selected to represent their country at an international level during competitions such as the Olympic Games, the World Championship, Pan-American Games, etc. The original Olympic Games held in Olympia, Greece, featured track and field as the main event, and those who came out as champions were considered second only to the gods.  To be labeled as an Olympian was not only an honor, but the ancient Greeks viewed this feat to be the highest glory that a mortal could achieve.  These Olympians were basked in riches in their homelands and treated as kings during their times.  Fast-forward to modern day America and the compensation for being such an outstanding Olympic athlete would be ridiculed by those of the past.  This issue is represented in Tim Layden's article "Nick Symmonds vs. USA Track and Field is far bigger than just one runner" written for Sports Illustrated.  The argument being presented is that the United States Track and Field organization (otherwise known as USATF) is undercutting the budgets of world-class American athletes and in partnership with Nike to encourage monopolization of the industry.  Though Tim Layden has never been a professional track and field athlete himself, his ability to reference the words of actual professional track and field athletes along with his references to recent studies appeals to his argument by demonstrating ethos through other's.  Although the author begins the article as an indifferent and single-minded individual, through his use of professional athletes' quotes and reference to studies, Layden provides a strong sense of developing ethos throughout the text.  

The author begins his text by referencing track and field athlete Nick Symmonds.  Layden develops a strong sense of ethos by opening up with details about recent events that transpired with Symmonds and USATF involving his participation, or lack thereof, on the World Championship team in which he would represent the United States.  The character of the author is built through Symmonds due to the fact that Symmonds is a two-time Olympian and six time U.S.A. national champion in the 800 meter run. The author directly incorporates Symmonds within the title of his article "Nick Symmonds vs. USA Track and Field is far bigger than just one runner" which develops the idea that this article is not only about a single athlete, but also the athlete's opinion on a larger matter at hands.  Using Symmonds as a primary reference was a brilliant choice by the author in defense of his argument.  Symmonds is a prime athlete to cite and defend his argument that USATF is undercutting their athletes by letting Nike monopolize the market due to the fact that Symmonds was not only previously sponsored by Nike, but that he also has a much higher income than most professional track athletes, as he is also business man/entrepreneur.  Symmonds' higher income assists in Layden's argument because Symmonds is not arguing only for himself, but primarily for athletes that are getting underpaid tremendously by their sponsors and USATF.

Layden also uses athlete Lauren Fleshman as a reference point to strengthen his ethos.  Fleshman is a member of six U.S. World Championship teams as well as a vocal advocate for the sport.  Fleshman states in this article that the monetary wages of American world-class track and field athletes has been polarized to the point in which athletes are either living with "big bucks or poverty level incomes."  The problem with such a polarized wage in professional sports is the disparity that comes with it.  As the price gaps begin to widen more and more, less and less athletes will be enticed to become professional, as the "big bucks" may seem unachievable and consequently, the Olympic medal count for the United States would fall tremendously.  

The use of statistics and studies from other reputable sources throughout the text encourages the idea that the author accomplished a fair amount of research prior to writing the article.  One specific study that the author references to is a study commissioned by the Track and Field Athletes Association.  According to this study conducted by Andrew Zimbalist, an Economics professor at Smith College, USATF will only pay their athletes 8% of their total revenue gained within the fiscal year.  The use of numeric values from an expert in their specific field allows Layden to expand on his developing ethos as professor Zimbalist is an unbiased source, yet the 8% revenue give back to USATF athletes is still a miniscule amount.  Layden then goes on to prompt the question as to where all the revenue is going if USATF claims to be a non-profit organization, which validates his argument once more by letting the audience begin to wonder the same.  

Although the author's strongest use of rhetoric is his use of ethos in this article, his use of kairos is very relevant and useful.  Layden's use of timing when releasing this article is genius as he even states in his article that Symmond's use of timing of this issue could not be more perfect.  In this article Layden states how Symmond's timing was perfect in the fact that he took a stand on this issue prior to the start of college football or the NFL season.  Layden's decision to release and write this article in close proximity and timing of these events was nothing short of perfection as this became the biggest story in sports at the time, which was opened up to a large audience that would not usually be interested in the sport of track and field to one of the biggest issues within the sport.  

Tim Layden's use of ethos truly strengthens his article as an argument.  Although he himself does not have much character or credibility within the sport of track and field, he does a fine job of developing these characteristics through the use of referencing renowned athletes within the sport along with statistics and studies that reveal the argued issue.  Layden completes the article with his use of timing along with his use of ethos that enabled him to showcase his argument to the largest audience available.  The issue within the sport that the athlete's suggested is stated clearly and definitively by Layden as he defends this problem with valid details.  As Layden said himself, "Track and field has a problem. People are talking about it. One small step."

