Andre Agassi on Crystal Meth

[Alpe d'Huez]

Not sure if anyone heard, but Andre Agassi has admitted to using crystal meth in his tennis career. No, not cycling related. But what's alarming is that being a nice and friendly guy, he wrote a sob story excuse to the ATA about it being an accident, and the ATA fell for it, and dismissed the test results, allowing him to continue to compete like nothing had happened. (Link here).

What's the moral of the story here, cycling fans?

 

[Bluebeard]

That I would have done Crystal Meths to have a chance with Steffi Graf?

 

[python]

he is a sob for admitting..

had he not, everything would be all right and no evil spirits would haunt him one tenth the volume reserved for lance. good looking, accessible, friendly, stunning missus, beautiful kids…

The bloody fool hasn’t raced omerta brand bikes

 

[ggusta]

That I would have done Crystal Meths to have a chance with Steffi Graf?

Really? I think the idea of a female athlete is very enticing, but on aesthetic merit alone, I'd have to say no.

The moral is that some pro athletes who have little to gain by telling the truth can do more to lift their image than one who ruthlessly enforces omerta on the one hand and hides behind a bogus hollywood fairy tale on the other ever could.

I hope that maybe some cyclists, and I do not care which ones, will liberate theselves by unburdening their souls.

 

[Oldman]

he is a sob for admitting..

had he not, everything would be all right and no evil spirits would haunt him one tenth the volume reserved for lance. good looking, accessible, friendly, stunning missus, beautiful kids…

The bloody fool hasn’t raced omerta brand bikes

Can't for one second understand why Hollywood/Sports tools need to vent their past...for money; particularly when it doesn't become a cautionary tale for anyone else. Leave their wife and kids a peaceful life and suck it up. He can't need money and the limelight so much as to regurgitate this stuff. I guess Queen Oprah will decide whether he can be forgiven.

 

[python]

Can't for one second understand why Hollywood/Sports tools need to vent their past...for money; particularly when it doesn't become a cautionary tale for anyone else. Leave their wife and kids a peaceful life and suck it up. He can't need money and the limelight so much as to regurgitate this stuff. I guess Queen Oprah will decide whether he can be forgiven.

only agassi knows why and if it was money..

my cynical guess would be he does not have a cancer foundation to protect and hind behind.

but seriously in his case i think it’s sheer human vanity, a misplaced sense of adoration/admiration he, the very emotional being, felt the admission would bring him. i could be wrong.

others no doubt fessup for various reasons including;

(i) to forestall someone outing you on their term (riis),
(ii) legacy worries,
(iii) pragmatic calculations (for ex after the statute of limitation passed)

and very very few want to honestly clean their soles before God.

 

[HoustonHammer]

Not sure if anyone heard, but Andre Agassi has admitted to using crystal meth in his tennis career. No, not cycling related. But what's alarming is that being a nice and friendly guy, he wrote a sob story excuse to the ATA about it being an accident, and the ATA fell for it, and dismissed the test results, allowing him to continue to compete like nothing had happened. (Link here).

What's the moral of the story here, cycling fans?

That we shouldn't be so focused on EPO, but should become more open-minded about trying other drugs like Crystal Meth?

 

[HoustonHammer]

and very very few want to honestly clean their soles before God.

That's because they just don't appreciate how hard it is to be holy with dirty feet.

 

[Oldman]

only agassi knows why and if it was money..

my cynical guess would be he does not have a cancer foundation to protect and hind behind.

but seriously in his case i think it’s sheer human vanity, a misplaced sense of adoration/admiration he, the very emotional being, felt the admission would bring him. i could be wrong.

others no doubt fessup for various reasons including;

(i) to forestall someone outing you on their term (riis),
(ii) legacy worries,
(iii) pragmatic calculations (for ex after the statute of limitation passed)

and very very few want to honestly clean their soles before God.

Agreed. I haven't read the book but am always skeptical of mea culpas that are announced on CNN, Sports Illustrated and People magazine on the same day. Hopefully the proceeds will go to a good cause...

 

[ChrisE]

That I would have done Crystal Meths to have a chance with Steffi Graf?

Those activities are not related, and it is irresponsible to suggest it here.

Children may be reading this forum, who then may go out and smoke crack or something for a shot at Pornikova or that tall blonde tennis player. Or, middle aged lesbians might shoot up for a shot at Billie Jean King.

Please post responsibly. Thanks.

 

[rgmerk]

That recreational drug use and performance-enhancing drug use are two completely different issues, and should not be conflated.

Andre Agassi may have been an idiot for taking meth, but he wasn't a cheat.

 

[auscyclefan94]

The tennis governing body are a joke. Hingis came out after her retirement admitting to taking cocaine and now agassi. I understand those drugs aren't PED's but i must say that cycling has the most strongest anti doping stance, in the world for any sport. It's not perfect but many other sports could take a leaf out of it's book.

 

[Sprocket01]

That recreational drug use and performance-enhancing drug use are two completely different issues, and should not be conflated.

Andre Agassi may have been an idiot for taking meth, but he wasn't a cheat.

Yes, I'm not sure why this has been presented as such a big deal by the media. I watched a news report that ended with the line "many people will now look at Andre Agassi in a different light". And I thought - why? Surely most people liked Andre Agassi for his tennis playing? This has got nothing to do with that. Or am I missing some performance enhancing benefit of crystal meth?

 

[Sprocket01]

Not endorsing people taking crystal meth, of course, but it wasn't even recently either. If the story was "Andre Agassi says he is hooked on crystal meth", and this was talking about right now, then it would of course be a bit different. But who really cares what he did in the 1990s? He always looked like a party type of guy anyway. It's not really that surprising he dabbled in some recreational drugs, is it?

 

[Hugh Januss]

Yes, I'm not sure why this has been presented as such a big deal by the media. I watched a news report that ended with the line "many people will now look at Andre Agassi in a different light". And I thought - why? Surely most people liked Andre Agassi for his tennis playing? This has got nothing to do with that. Or am I missing some performance enhancing benefit of crystal meth?

Maybe there is a benefit in a sport which requires an almost tweekerish level of focus and intensity?

 

[poupou]

The tennis governing body are a joke. Hingis came out after her retirement admitting to taking cocaine and now agassi. I understand those drugs aren't PED's but i must say that cycling has the most strongest anti doping stance, in the world for any sport. It's not perfect but many other sports could take a leaf out of it's book.

Fabrice Santoro made a statement recently bout tennismen who don't need to breath, there is no doubt about what they use. He spoke about people who come back with 4kg of muscles after a short period.

 

[ChrisE]

Fabrice Santoro made a statement recently bout tennismen who don't need to breath, there is no doubt about what they use. He spoke about people who come back with 4kg of muscles after a short period.

WTF are you talking about? There is PED out there that eliminates the need to breathe?

Maybe that fata$$ bumblebee in your avatar could use some of that. If LA hadn't elbowed him into the snow he would've enhaled that homemade syringe before much longer anyway.

 

[Sprocket01]

Maybe there is a benefit in a sport which requires an almost tweekerish level of focus and intensity?

Is that what it does? I thought lots of homeless people smoke it. They don't look very focused to me.

 

[Digger]

Must be strange happenings going on with Halloween or something, because I am in agreement with Sprocket here. Christ am I well?
As far as I'm concerned, it had nothing to do with performance gains. If anything, it would've had a detrimental effect. I genuinely don't see what the fuss is about here. Twelve years ago this occured. So many news agencies have it as one of their headlines, and that baffles me. I don't see the news or the relevance. You'd think the guy was a dealer the way some are talking. And lets get off the high horse about tennis testing being a joke. We're talking a decade ago here, testing in every sport was a farce.

 

[Sprocket01]

Must be strange happenings going on with Halloween or something, because I am in agreement with Sprocket here. Christ am I well?

I will take this as a full endorsement of all of my views on every subject

 

[Polish]

Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields is pretty!

C&P from a Sally Jenkins article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006322/1/index.htm

"The autographing over, Shields and Agassi dash into a chauffeured sedan and travel a few blocks to an Italian bistro, Becco, where they order champagne; their schedules have been so hectic since he returned from Australia that they haven't enjoyed a proper toast. Then, over pumpkin ravioli and a bottle of Chianti, they narrate the story of their romance. It is like dining with nuzzling deer.

They were set up by the wife of saxophonist Kenny G, a mutual friend.

Agassi and Shields are convinced that they fell in love via fax during months of communicating without meeting face-to-face. When he finally went to Los Angeles and took her to dinner in December 1993, both were instantly smitten. They sat in a restaurant until it was ready to close. Agassi, as is his custom, kept his back to the room to avoid being recognized, his hair a cascade over his collar. "Are you ladies enjoying your meal?" the waitress asked.

Agassi and Shields are contemplating marriage, although they have no specific plans. Agassi's friends are betting something will happen within the next two years. "Brooke is not the only reason I've come to terms with so many things, but she helps," Agassi says.

In Las Vegas he is not just Andre Agassi, he is Andre Agassi Enterprises. He has a suite of offices in the U.S. Bank Building, right next door to Merrill Lynch. He employs a staff that numbers between 13 and 15 people at any given time. A big chunk of the budget goes into his plane, which costs $740,000 annually to operate. He bleeds money."

 

[ChrisE]

Brooke Shields is pretty!

.... A big chunk of the budget goes into his plane, which costs $740,000 annually to operate. He bleeds money."

This should find its way into that other thread.

 

[scribe]

Most mullets from that era are powered by crank.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

A couple of things here: the new drug of choice for your book launch has to be Crystal Meth, your days snorting coke just wont sell enough books.

The real sporting side of this story will quickly be lost. The ATA accepting and 'hiding' this case again shows that the sporting authorities should have nothing to do with the anti-doping side of sport.

But I think we can all agree that Andre now believes in Unicorns.

 

[luckyboy]

Is that what it does? I thought lots of homeless people smoke it. They don't look very focused to me.

Have to say, that made me laugh