International tennis and anti-doping officials on Wednesday expressed disappointment at Andre Agassi’s admission that he used a banned drug and lied to escape a ban, but said it was too late to impose sanctions against the eight-time Grand Slam champion.
Agassi reveals in an upcoming autobiography that he used the recreational stimulant crystal meth in 1997 and avoided a doping suspension for a positive test by claiming he ingested the drug by accident in a spiked drink.
Under today’s anti-doping rules, a player could face a ban of up to two years for use of the drug.
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president John Fahey said the body could not take any action against Agassi because of its eight-year statute of limitations, and that it was “unlikely” the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) would either.
“WADA would, however, expect the ATP, which administered its own anti-doping program at that time, to shed light on this allegation,” Fahey said in a statement.
International Tennis Federation (ITF) president Francesco Ricci Bitti said he was “surprised and disappointed” by Agassi’s disclosures.
“Such comments in no way reflect the fact that the Tennis Anti-Doping Program is currently regarded as one of the most rigorous and comprehensive anti-doping program in sport,” he said.
Ricci Bitti said the incident occurred before WADA was founded in 1999 and when drug-testing was handled by individual governing bodies. The ITF assumed responsibility for the ATP’s anti-doping program in 2006 and for the WTA Tour in 2007.
“The ITF, Grand Slams, ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour are now unified in their efforts to keep tennis free of drug use, and this should not be overshadowed by an incident that took place over 12 years ago,” Ricci Bitti said. “The statements by Mr. Agassi do, however, provide confirmation that a tough anti-doping program is needed.”
The ATP said an independent panel makes the final decision on a doping violation.
“The ATP has always followed this rule, and no executive at the ATP has therefore had the authority or ability to decide the outcome of an anti-doping matter,” the statement said.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
RSS