Agassi’s Admission Appalling

Andre Agassi used crystal meth. This revelation doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. Our society is in the age of rampant steroid abuse and performance-enhancing drug use. Athletes can choose to take the high road, and most do. Others risk their careers and reputations by putting their lives on the line to excel in their sport. Too often those professionals get away with a mere slap on the wrist or short suspension for their illegal actions. Agassi’s talent on the tennis court doesn’t come along every day. It makes you wonder why he needed crystal meth and would take a chance on affecting his gift for the game. Perhaps the answer isn’t complex. Maybe he simply had access.
The Grand Slam tennis champion makes the exclusive claim in his new book out November 9th. He also states he may have swallowed an amphetamine given by his father as a junior player. I plan on reading the book before I jump to conclusions and accuse the man I once admired of sending the wrong message to children. No one can take away all those years Andre took over the tennis world with that buzzing backhand. He has done admirable, respectable and wonderful things for children and charity throughout his career. Agassi played with a chip on his shoulder as a young, up-and-coming flamboyant figure in tennis. He became a humble player later on and orchestrated one of the greatest comebacks as an aging star. Athletic competition is tough at any age. It doesn’t give someone an excuse to use drugs as a diversion. I personally find more mental stimulation on the field of play rather than in an illegal substance. It’s definitely more rewarding to get high off a score than a snort. Agassi admits in his autobiography he tested positive for crystal meth. He pulled out of the 1997 French Open and couldn’t pull himself together to tune-up in London for Wimbledon. A doctor from an anti-doping agency calls to notify Agassi about a failed drug test. Agassi’s hand-written plea was sent to an independent panel. No one from the ATP was represented on the panel that bought his now-acknowledged lies. Tennis has three classes of drug violations. Agassi’s breach qualified as recreational drug use, a Class 2 three-month suspension from the court. The player who once sported long hair and loud T-shirts asserted he never knowingly used crystal meth. He fired an ace in his testimony just like he used to do with his dominating serve. The Las Vegas resident Agassi addressed how he fired his assistant, Slim. Slim was known for using drugs, Agassi wrote. He fabricates the idea Slim slipped meth into one of his drinks. The spiked soda is enough to justify crystal meth in his urine. The ATP lets Agassi off scott-free because of his admission.
Situations like this perplex me. Agassi knew he lied about ingesting meth. It’s too late to punish the eight-time Grand Slam champion. The World Anti-Doping Agency has asked tennis to investigate the matter, but it will hardly do any good. The damage has already been done. On the surface, maybe Agassi looks a little better admitting today than he would have 12 years ago. I think Andre is looking for another pick-me-up. This time, he didn’t resort to drugs, a private feel-good. Instead, he published a more tangible attention-grabber. The public eats up these types of stories. He’ll get the benefit of the doubt from tennis fans. Agassi will attract the attention of the media. Colleagues will sympathize with his harsh childhood upbringing and marriage struggles. But in my book, Agassi is placed in the same chapter as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Mark McGwire. His paragraph may even be the first. The baseball stars lied about their use of steroids, but there were no rules prohibiting the drugs when they chose not to take the high road. Andre knew the repercussions and still risked everything. None of these athletes should get a pass. I know people make honest mistakes. Andre had a chance to say he was wrong. Instead, he lied and the ATP protected him. I can think of many practical reasons Andre would have wanted to cover up this situation. I also know there are always practicalities to telling the truth because the truth is always a fact. I wish there were more books about guys with clean careers who never needed the protection of higher governing bodies. But sadly, those reads wouldn’t be best-sellers.

Parting Points: Listening to some Depeche Mode on this fantastic Hump-Day. Go Yankees!
How do the Orange drop an exhibition game to a Division II school?
Plaxico Burress has company. LA Dodgers pitcher, Vicente Padilla, accidentally shot himself in the leg too.