Bubba Watson Defends Justin Gatlin from Doping Criticism

Bubba Watson, the highest-ranked American golfer at the Olympics, defended Justin Gatlin's right to compete in Rio, telling TIME that the sprinter who was once suspended for a doping violation is clean and has "changed."

"Who cares about the past?" Watson tells TIME. "I mean, we’ve all had issues. People write negative things about me that aren’t true."

Gatlin, a gold medal winner at the 2004 Olympics, was out of the sport for four years following a positive test.