Agassi's admission

In his recently released autobiography, eight time grand slam winner Andre Agassi has written about taking crystal meth while still a player on the tennis circuit in 1997. What's more, he spoke of how he lied to officials after the drug was discovered in a dope test, by claiming that he had unwittingly consumed a spiked drink from one of his associates. Agassi says that he asked for leniency from the ATP (Association of Tennis), who clearly obliged by never making the incident public. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=4600027

Now Agassi has spilled his guts. It is not clear whether his doing so is just Oprah-styled TMI (too-much-information) or genuine public catharsis. One has to wonder if the beloved tennis star set about to fuel book sales with this particular controversial tidbit. Could the risk of permanently tarnishing his legacy be recouped from making a few extra millions dollars - money that he perhaps doesn’t even need? Who knows!

To be optimistic, one could view this out-of-left-field drama as a teachable moment. Sports stars are not perfect and recreational drug use is popular, if not common-place. Olympic swim champ Michael Phelps was caught bonging weed a few months ago and former tennis number one Martina Hingis retired in cocaine disgrace. In the absence of any anti-social or performance enhancing effect, should we really care that much about the drug habits of athletes (or anyone else, for that matter)? Is social drug use a legitimate “character” issue for assessing sporting greats?

The ATP’s cover-up, however, is a troubling matter. How do anti-doping officials decide who gets the stick and who doesnt? Pity the athlete who does not find favour in their eyes. On this point, I think that a book by track and field motor- mouth Carl Lewis would provide helpful insights, if he made detailed personal revelations. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2003/apr/24/athletics.duncanmackay