"I'm a damn lumberjack" - Michael Johnson fires back after Noah Lyles' criticism of Grand Slam Track

Former American track athlete Michael Johnson recently took a subtle dig at 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles. Johnson's response is directed to Lyles's statement regarding the former's Grand Slam Track league.

In a recent conversation on the "Beyond the Records" podcast, Lyles stated some of the reasons for not joining the GST league. He said that Johnson's league needs a better marketing idea and also expressed his disappointment with the scheduling of the events.

Johnson took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to remark that his GST league has struck deals with several broadcasters, such as Eurosport and NBC, and has done enough for its marketing. He called himself a lumberjack and wrote:

"Peacock, The CW, NBC, Eurosport, TNT. I’m a damn lumberjack! I cut down all the trees in the woods and everybody heard them fall. Well almost everybody."

Johnson earlier remarked that his league is open to be joined by athletes but will continue even without those who don't want to join (referring to Lyles). Johnson's Grand Slam Track has signed several renowned stars such as Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone, Josh Kerr, Kenny Bednarek, and Fred Kerley, among others.

Michael Johnson draws a sharp comparison between UFC and Grand Slam Track

Johnson during an interview in Rio De Janeiro before the 2013 Laureus Awards (Image via: Getty Images)

Grand Slam Track founder, Michael Johnson, drew a comparison between his league and the UFC. The former Olympic gold medalist shared that the masses don't recognize combat sports more often and are just aware of UFC, a leading league in the domain.

Additionally, he mentioned that the track needs a league like Grand Slam Track that is exclusive to the sport, unlike the Olympics and World Championships. He said (via Athletics Weekly):

"Nobody talks about combat sports as the thing. It’s UFC. That’s the leader. We have never had that in athletics. We have the Olympics, which is not ours. It doesn’t belong to us as a sport. We have our World Championships, but it is not an exclusive league that takes place every year that is for the best of the best athletes. That was one of the things that, when I first started this, I felt like the sport needed in order for it to continue to thrive. Grand Slam Track is that league," Johnson was quoted as saying by Athletics Weekly.

During the conversation, Johnson said that he wanted to build a product with GST so that it could bring a sense of entertainment to the fans.