Noah Lyles is notorious for being brash and not holding back on and off the track. From being open about any issues he faces to bluntly putting his opinions across, the man has never shied away from it. However, he also does a great job of backing that up by delivering on the tracks. When the sprinter stepped onto the purple tracks for the 100m Olympic event, he was not a crowd favorite. But against all odds, he seized a win from behind – even edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. 

Even though the 27-year-old can run at blistering speeds, the consequences of his unabashed comments always find a way to catch up to him. The Olympian has found himself in hot water on several occasions, and this time is no different. Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green speak to one of his ‘haters’ on a September 5 episode of Ready Set Go – Erin Brown. They start by asking him about his experience with the track, but Green eventually brings up Lyles. 

The Bahamian interjects, “It ain’t no secret. Anybody that knows Erin Brown knows that you have a disliking, or I don’t even know what to call that, you correct me, for Noah Lyles. What is that about because you have a whole diss song about him?” The 22-year-old released the song “Step Sons” on his YouTube channel in January. “When it comes to Noah Lyles, I’m going just say as a sports person, I’m not a fan of him,” Brown stated.

The sprinter further elaborated, “It’s just pretty much that I’m not a fan and in any other sport it’s like we can have our favorite athletes. and we have the athletes that we don’t like. And he just happens to fall into that category. I just don’t like him as a track guy.” However, he clarified how his opinion is solely based on his prowess on the track. “As a person, I don’t know him, so I can’t be like, you know, ‘I don’t like Noah Lyles’ personality.’ I don’t know him in his personal life to not like him.” Any time he’s watched Noah Lyles compete, he’s rooted against him. 

However, Rodney Green points out how he still gave the Olympian credit after the 100m event at Stade de France. “So that 100-meter title holds a lot of weight like there’s nothing you can disrespect about that, and it hasn’t been done since 2004. So I mean, I never taken away from his talent.” But that doesn’t change his opinion about the sprinter. The 22-year-old used an example to drive his point home. “It’s just like boxers. Some people didn’t like Mayweather. Mayweather was an immensely talented boxer. But a lot of people rooted against him.”

Justin Gatlin asked if he didn’t appreciate the way Noah Lyles entertains the crowd, and the sprinter agreed. The former sprinter said he understood and added, “But I must say I do, I hope, I wish, Noah, if you’re watching this, we need a response diss track. We need to get Track and Field track diss tracks.” Green exclaimed he does music, “So we need a diss track. Entertain the track world, man.” However, this isn’t the only time the Olympian has been called out for his comments. 

Noah Lyles’ unabashed personality gets a rise out of many

The sprinter rose through the ranks to claim the 100m world champion title at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. However, a particular comment at the press conference put a dent in his celebrations. After famously stating, ‘World Champions of what? The United States?,’ the sprinter got in trouble with NBA fans. But this sentiment slipped into the NFL territory as well. Miami Dolphins wide receiver chimed into the conversation and challenged him to a sprint showdown. 

But hold on, there’s more. After Team USA clinched an effortless win at the World Relays, Noah Lyles was asked if fans would witness their rivalry with Team Canada from hereon. However, he only responded with, “A rivalry between who?” After a constant back and forth of the reporter repeating himself and the sprinter saying ‘who?’ the reporter caught on, eventually dropping it. However, he couldn’t back this up at the recently concluded Paris Olympics. 

The 100m Olympic champion finished third behind Letsile Tebogo and compatriot Kenny Bednarek in the 200m finals. However, he didn’t return for the 4x100m relay due to contracting COVID-19. Much to Team USA’s dismay, they were disqualified due to a baton error. This led to Canada claiming the title of Olympic champion instead. But Justin Trudeau’s response after the race caused quite a stir. He shared the Olympian’s comment on X and captioned, “Sorry 👀🥇.” What do you think about Erin Brown’s take on Noah Lyles?