Maria Sharapova is not retiring. But she may be away from tennis for a while–and not just because of her recent injury problems.
At her highly-anticipated press conference on Monday, Sharapova announced that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open. The 28-year-old Russian received a letter from the ITF last week saying she had tested positive tested positive for meldonium.
“I did fail the test and I take full responsibility for that,” Sharapova said. “For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine by my family doctor. For the past 10 years this medicine was not on the banned list and I had been legally taking the medicine, but on January 1 the rules changed and [it] became a prohibited substance, which I did not know.”
Sharapova did not indicate if she has been notified of any possible suspension.
Announcement and press conference:
Hi there Tenngranders! *waves*
I cannot believe what I am reading online about the Maria debacle. Some people are actually praising her for taking responsibility and coming out and owning up to her mistake. Like, who but her was supposed to come out and take responsibility for her actions? Seriously, are our morals this kaput? Praising someone for what she should do?
If Tennis is serious they will erase all her records and titles earned since she started taking this drug. They were earned unfairly. If she is really upstanding she would voluntarily give them all back. Now, that would be something to praise her for.
Her doctors knew the drug was performance enhancing. She knew it was performance enhancing and cynically took it because it was not banned at the time. This was a cynical abuse of the system. Maria Sharapova is a drugs cheat and she should be punished accordingly.
What still puzzles me is why she would continue to take it if she knew it had been added to the list.
Truly bizarre.
I bet she gets just six months missing the Olympics.
She did not know it had been added to the list. Or maybe she thought she would get the Fedal silent ban.
Filter used to be a fedfan during the weak era.
Too funny (yet simultaneously a bit sad).
Yes, truly bizarre @hawkeye, as is her saying she received e-mail from WADA and did not open the link. Surely having been in the business as long as she has, she would have received lots of similar e-mails from WADA with updates on banned substances. If you are on a drug prescribed by a doctor, wouldn’t you be especially on the look-out to see that the drug you are on is no longer illegal?
Sharapova is a very smart person. So is Armstrong et al. My own feeling is that people like Sharapova and Armstrong begin to believe the marketing hype around them and start to believe they are untouchable.
Armstrong may never have been caught if he had not, ill-advisedly, come out of retirement to compete again. Likewise, Maria would not have been caught had she opened the WADA email. Btw, her saying she did not open it is a blooming lie. She opened the email,saw that her drug was now illegal but continued taking it because she thought she was too big to be outed.
All speculation. Even though some of the stuff she has said does not seem 100% true, we don’t know the full truth. She has been a massive fighter all her life and has battled many injuries too. Her courage has always been admirable.
Would still give the benefit of doubt to the athlete until things get a bit clearer.
well said vr. agree totally.
am hearing she has been banned for 4 years.
why does she get 4 years and cilic 6 months….??
her career is over.
4 years? Woah! Would be interesting to read the verdict then. 4 years would mean her career is almost over.
another side:
Maria Sharapova could be granted medical exemption
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2016/03/08/nike-suspends-relationship-with-maria-sharapova/
maybe i have it wrong vr! sorry! was reported here as that but now seems like facts all mixed up.
a number of british sportsmen and women saying they don’t believe she is a drugs cheat including the lovely sir bradley wiggins…
think one should always give people the benefit of the doubt at least at first…
agreed! and esp to someone like Maria, who has been an inspiring fighter all her career.
I give her the benefit of doubt for now.
vamosrafa,
Thanks for being a much needed voice of reason amidst some of the over the top moralizing and condemnation.
How quick some are to judge so harshly and just trash a player’s entire career.
Nativenewyorker (AT 4:06 PM),
—amidst some of the over the top moralizing and condemnation—
===
.
Who?!
AT 12:16 PM,
Sharapova explained this at her press conference.
catching up with some details… six months won’t be enough. They should at least make her miss the whole year.
can’t be sure what exactly her intentions were but this is extremely negligent behavior nonetheless and deserves proper punishment.
From the twitter….
BREAKING: TAG Heuer, which has been with Maria Sharapova since 2004, says their relationship is now over
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2016/03/08/nike-tag-heuer-suspend-ties-sharapova/81469616/
Porsche has now bailed as well………..
It’s business, Maria, not personal.
If what shara shared is the whole story, then I applaud her for coming out. we’ve seen so many athletes who go through protests and try to defame whoever accuses them… Of course it’s a terrible situation to be in, but she handled it as best as one could have.
I’m hoping what I said above is the case here. However another part of me wonders if this is all she’s done, and the quick press release is just a way to c cover something much bigger…
fair points
Lask,
Thanks for a reasonable take on this. You make some good points and also seem to be trying to be fair. You also ask some great questions. I prefer not to jump all over a great athlete and just pile on.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/mar/08/maria-sharapova-press-conference-failed-drugs-test-meldonium
Good read from the Guardian, thanks, rafaisthebest.
Initially I wanted to believe the story when I watched her telling it live. After the surprise and denial settled, I’m not going to spend more time on it – for me it’s pretty clear now. Good luck to her. I still can’t put her in the same class of doper with Lance Armstrong – he bullied all his teammates into taking EPO, scammed, pushed, lied, denied, perhaps worst of all, imo, was using his cancer as a cover to abuse EPO and other substances under the direction and help of infamous Dr. Michele Ferrari. Ruined lives and families. What a train-wreck.
One more link from me on the subject – a well-referenced one.
https://jakegshelley.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/what-is-melodoniummildronate/
Agree @ratcliff, on the difference with Lance Armstrong. Lance knowingly took banned drugs which were performance enhancing. Maria knowingly took legal drugs, for the better part of her career, which were performance enhancing.
Big and important difference although the effect was the same.
Maria may be a doper, like Lance, but she sure ain’t a socio/psychopath, like Lance.
rafaisthebest, you might be interested in occasionally reading this thread in the link I’ll post. There is a lot of pure garbage poster’s. But Alex Simmons, Python, Zinoviev Letter, Merckx Index, and others are wise, experienced, thoughtful researchers and trusted voices on the subject of doping in sports. As it is on these tennis blogs, there are certain voices you come to respect over time. Happy to see you’re here now.
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18222&start=2680
Well, what do you know, I read cyclingnews.com religiously, I’m a cycling nut. I thought @ed251137 and I were the only ones following cycling on this forum. Doping has been a blight on cycling for a long time this is why this Maria issue piqued my interest. I hope the Tennis authorities use this incident to seriously address the issue in the sport, like how the authorities in cycling used the Lance incident to shine a light on the problem in that sport. I doubt Maria is the only one who has been/is gaming the system in tennis.
Maybe we should ask Ricky for a cycling page? In due time, of course. First things first – Indian Wells!
I’ve gone through far too much to moralize or condemn, though I make an exception sometimes, as with Lance Armstrong. My favorite cyclists: Contador and Nibali – because of how they ride a bike, animate races, inspire. Do they dope/ have they doped? Of course. The problem is/has been an epidemic. From the comment section in Jake Gilley’s blog:
SportsDoc March 8, 2016 at 6:14 am
Dear Che: The fundamental issue is a level playing field for all competitors in all elite sport. This is essential to maintain or else all elite sport competition is tainted. All elite athletes train extremely hard and devote years to their sport so that they may compete with the best. We must maintain the principle of fair competition for all; otherwise these important events will be forever tainted.
That’s the goal, I think. How do we get there?
Jake Shelley’s blog, that should say.
Like this post from cyclingnews.com:
arcus wrote:
“A key issue (for me) is if she disclosed this as a prescribed medication on her many doping-control forms over the past 10 years (during which time she states she took the drug)… Do we trust the ITF to honestly disclose this information?
I’ll say it again, as an MD, I can personally think of no legitimate reason, apart from doping, for her to be on that drug.
She lives in the US, home to some of the most excellent health care in the world. Is she really getting her primary medical care in Russia, Latvia or Georgia, the only countries where this drug is approved?”
Arcus is new to me. Is he a Doc? Kinda sounds like he might be. I liked most of his points yesterday. But I’m cautious about posters with less than 1,000 posts in the clinic 😀
Thanks @ratcliff on that link. This puts the seal on the matter for me. Yep, good luck to her!
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/08/meldonium-maria-sharapova-failed-drugs-test
Read more
• Wada found “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance” by virtue of carrying more oxygen to muscle tissue.
• L’Equipe reported that the scientific advisor to the French Agency Against Doping (AFLD), Professor Xavier Bigard, said in interviews with athletes at last year’s European Games in Baku that a wide proportion of athletes admitted taking meldonium.”
Well, well. I guess this “wide proportion” of athletes will all claim to have made an honest mistake when they are caught. I also guess they have all suffered from multiple bouts with the flu, received erratic EKG results, and were diagnosed with a “deficiency in magnesium” and “signs of diabetes.”
Pull the other one.
Basically, it’s a PED that athletes thought was legal because it had not been banned so they felt they could use it. According to Pam Shriver on ESPN, it’s because of the wide use of it amongst athletes that WADA DECIDED TO BAN IT.
The question is, is it illegal to use anything at all to help you perform and train better even if it is not banned like the CVAC chamber?
As long as it is not banned, it is okay to use it. Nobody should question it.
I agree that if it is not banned, then it’s okay to use it.
I just do not choose to exult or somehow enjoy a player’s fall from grace. She did not try to blame others, did not deny it. She certainly never engaged in the behavior and cover up and intimidation that Armstrong did.
NNY: I don’t see any comments by faithful Tenngranders exulting in her fall from grace. Far from it. Questionning the veracity of her claims and/or a degree of disapproval is only to be expected: it does not constitute gloating at the predictament she is in.
Take note of RITB’s searching analyses as the story has unfolded and in particular her post at March 8, 3.04pm
“The question is, is it illegal to use anything at all to help you perform and train better even if it is not banned like the CVAC chamber?”
That is the question being posed by the Guardian article I posted above, @nadline:
“Far less binary are the ethical issues the episode raises. If you take a medicine or supplement that isn’t strictly banned but which makes you feel better on court and in general, is it wrong? Sharapova admitted on Monday to having taken a drug for a decade that the World Anti-Doping Agency has banned after it was proven to enhance performance considerably, a timeframe that raises a concern over what medical reasons justify such long-term use.
That’s the question confronting the general public when asked to assess whether Sharapova’s achievements and reputation should be called into question.”
Valid question, worthy of debate.
rafaisthebest (AT 3:04 PM),
—“The question is, is it illegal to use anything at all to help you perform and train better even if it is not banned like the CVAC chamber?”—
===
.
Speaking of CVAC chamber, it cannot be used everywhere. For example, Djoko uses it only in U.S. and Australia, “because access and regulations are challenging in Europe.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tennis-players-get-an-oxygen-fix-1454023796
Way back, early in his career, Djokovic said ‘I’ll do anything legal to win’
I belong to a generation who were taught the concept ‘even if you are not breaking the letter of the law you are breaking the spirit of that law’
Sharapova could have just used the CVAC chamber and saved herself the aggro.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see WADA put the CVAC chamber on the banned list just like they have now done with the Maria drug.
But how can they prove use of the chamber?
“But how can they prove use of the chamber?”
Good question. WADA would have to hire a team of stalkers to shadow each and every player! Impossible. But they do not need to catch anyone using it to ban it. They can use empirical evidence to prove that the chamber enhances performance and thus ban it. It would then be up to the player(s) to decide to take a chance with a banned contraption or not.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/how-do-you-absolve-a-problem-like-maria-20160308-gndtb7.html
Pretty savage take, but asks the right questions.
“The way this looks and walks and quacks, it is beginning to appear very much like a duck.
………..But she continued to use it for a decade, knowing it was not approved for sale in the US and had to be sourced from its maker in Latvia, which, at the very least, must have made her wonder if she was onto something that no one else was. She said it made her “healthy”. Evidently, her decrease in performance eased; she won four more major championships to add to her maiden triumph at Wimbledon in 2004.
Meldonium was provisionally on the list last year, flagged for monitoring, and incorporated onto the list proper this year, banned “because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance”. In a nutshell, it was identified as one of the steps by which the baddies are said always to be ahead of the goodies.
Sharapova says she did not read the list this year, nor, presumably, last year. Nor did any of her many minders. Nor did she or they listen to the annual briefing before the Australian Open. This from a player who is so careful, thorough and precise in her tennis routines that she will not walk on the lines on court between points. Quack, quack.
Yes, life can be pretty hectic on the various red carpets and while shooting the commercials, and too many Sugarpovas probably have a bit of a red cordial effect, but you may think an alarm bell might have rung about then. Waddle, waddle, waddle.
It is hard not to conclude that here is one dead duck.”
@ratcliff’s link: “Meldonium is an anti-ischemic drug used clinically to treat angina, myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure. It is manufactured in Latvia under the commercial name of Mildronate and is one of the countries largest exports, with turnover reaching EUR 65 million in 2013. It is not yet approved by the FDA for use in the USA.”
If the drug is to treat heart disease where does diabetes come into the equation?
Caro is not sympathetic but Serena is
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2016/03/08/nike-suspends-relationship-with-maria-sharapova/
I saw the interview on telly. Very impressed with Serena’s poise, maturity and thoughtfulness in answering the questions which clearly were leading, designed to bait her into carelessly putting the boot into Maria. She wisely did not bite.
Props.
Chris Evert’s take:
http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/14925933/manufacturer-says-4-6-weeks-normal-treatment-drug-maria-sharapova-case
We’re about to find out just how serious the ITF/ATP/WTA are about tackling the doping problem in tennis.
In recent years the only big fish who didn’t manage to wriggle out of a ban was Troicki. Presumably they feared to accept his plea would’ve laid them open to a mass outbreak of needle phobia within the sport.
This is the first time a mega star has been in the dock.
As I said, I’m guessing it will be six months missing the Olympics.
Should be two years IMO.
hawkeye March 8, 2016 at 7:53 PM
Snap!
She’ll get a slap on the wrist @ed251137. We’re being prepped for it. Paul Heyward pretty much points to it in his article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2016/03/08/why-maria-sharapova-does-not-deserve-sympathy/
Are you thinking the whole business is a storm in a teacup?
I’m beginning to suspect it could all be an elaborate charade by the ‘suits in charge’ to make us believe they are intending to crack down hard on any culprit in the future. And Sharapova is their willing accomplice.
I’ve been puzzling all day about her poise and calmness while making the announcement. Her body language was not that of somebody facing the stress of making an announcement which could well spell the end of her career.
Far fetched I agree. But it could explain some of the anomalies.
Look, I pretty much lost my innocence on doping in sports during the Lance affair. I idolized him, he had everything I liked in a sportsman: he had panache, athleticism, swagger, personality and fearlessness plus, he knew how to ride a bike. I still love cycling but I am no longer naïve. My current favourite, Contador, doped and was caught. I still like his bike riding but I know he lied about his doping.
Reeshad doped, so did Cilic, so did Troicki, so did Wayne. Of course they’ll tell you the drugs walked into their mouths while they were sleeping or it was doctor’s orders, they want to save their professional lives.
Having said that, I would never accuse someone of doping unless I saw proof or they confessed to it, which Maria has done, after being caught of course.
So, yeah, pro sports is a ruthless business and stuff does happen. Innocent until proven guilty must stand but if one is guilty they must face the consequences.
Just don’t think Maria will suffer the full consequences though. Just a feeling.
hawkeye March 8, 2016 AT 10:33 PM
I’m more and more coming round to the belief it has all be settled behind closed doors. But boy, it’s done wonders for page traffic wherever you look.
RITB March 9, 2016 AT 5:12 AM
Until the full scale of LA’a venality was exposed I had pretty much accepted a degree of doping was endemic to the sport. However, when the full extent of his nefarious behaviour came to light, I was appalled and like every other fan of his felt horribly betrayed.
Great article RITB. Sums it up:
“Leaving aside this Soviet-era edict, from a country with a state sponsored doping programme in Olympic sports, Sharapova may well be the “leader” and “role model” many on the circuit believe her to be. But the rush to absolve her on grounds of personality and marketability is alarming. For a start, it shows there are different layers of judgment for the star of the women’s tennis circuit and, say, a calloused shot putter who tries to explain away a positive doping test as a “mistake”.”
(For the record, I never bought Reeshard’s kiss-and-tell alibi either but then cocaine ain’t exactly performance enhancing.)
Agassi got away with it and little has changed since.
The big tennis personalities realize that we want to believe their stories. Maybe that is why she was willing to take the chance. Either that or she thought it was out of her system.
Bizarre.
Serena was being a class act in not piling on here. I applaud her measured response.
I am not about to throw out what Maria has done in this sport over this.
“The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said Sharapova had been informed of the positive test on March 2 and she will be provisionally suspended from March 12.”
Still unclear when the ban length (if any) will be decided/announced.
ITF said it already on Monday:
https://tenngrand.com/2016/03/07/sharapova-announces-failed-drug-test-at-australian-open/comment-page-1/#comment-92307
They only say when her suspension starts.
Not when they will announce the length.
I don’t want it to end her career. Whatever they decide, i don’t want it to be so long that it effectively means her career is over.
Sharapova the day AFTER she was notified of her positive drug test…
“I am extremely disappointed that I am unable to compete in this year’s BNP Paribas Open,” Sharapova said. “I have been focused on healing my left forearm injury and tried to get my body to be 100% ready to play this event, as it is one of my favorites on the WTA and so close to my home in LA. I know the tournament will be a great success this year and I will be anxious to return next year and hopefully many years after.”
I see most people here believe two years is a fair suspension. In my eyes, any attempt of doping needs to result in permanent ban from the sport. Two years may seem like a long time, but the benefits of doping + having an extra chance(s) to succeed are much greater than a silly time off from the sport.
This Shara incident is the perfect opportunity for ITF to address the integrity of the sport to all fans and players. Banning Shara for life would display the consequence of doping and truly make players rethink before taking such PEDs.
It’s a cruel punishment for Maria, but it needs to happen.
i’m not sure many people consider two years to be a fair suspension. But a lot of people suspect it could be the maximum. Personally I doubt the ITF will hang her out to dry.
rafaisthebest MARCH 9, 2016 AT 5:12 AM
I agree with you and Hawks it is looking more and more likely she has been tipped off by the ITF she will be dealt with leniently. That would explain her calmness. The financial hit she is taking is but a drop in the ocean. She still has a healthy bank balance and her pension fund is secure even if some of her sponsorships fall by the wayside.
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sodstg
“John Haggerty, an attorney for Maria Sharapova, said the five-time major winner will seek between no ban and a year’s suspension for her doping offense. Haggerty also said he is engaged in preliminary settlement talks with the ITF that could avoid the need for a hearing. “Something from zero to one is in the range we would like to see,” he said. Sharapova tested positive at the Australian Open for meldonium, which WADA banned on Jan. 1.”
There you have it, @hawkeye must have an inside track on Team Sharpie. Looks increasingly like the 6 months ban he is projecting will come to pass. Team Sharpie will have its way.
rafaisthebest (AT 9:45 AM),
Sharapova’s attorney said on Monday that they think “there are … circumstances that once taken into consideration would result in a dramatically reducing any sanction…”
John Haggerty: “We are attempting to have a conversation with ITF up front because we think there are laundry list of extremely mitigating circumstances that once taken into consideration would result in a dramatically reducing any sanction that they might want to impose on Maria.” [SI, March 7]
https://tenngrand.com/2016/03/07/sharapova-announces-failed-drug-test-at-australian-open/comment-page-1/#comment-92320
I absolutely do not believe in a life time ban. They didn’t do it to the others who got caught, so why make an exception for her?
I don’t know if they are signaling that Maria will be dealt with leniently or not. I just weighed in with my belief that this should not end her career.
I think it’s a joke to speak about the financial hit being a drop in the ocean. I guess some might wish that she become destitute in the bargain. I don’t think having a lot of money is going to ease the pain and stigma and punishment that will mar her career.
People can be really harsh at times. It’s a shame. She will pay, but for some nothing will ever be enough.
If you truly want to limit down doping users, you got to start doing something different. Every single athlete knows the consequences of taking PEDs. Clearly they take it because they believe a suspension is a simple slap on the wrist, compared to how much they gain taking illegal substance. In addition, they get a second chance to rejuvenate their career.
NNY: Why not address your remarks to me personally? I’m tired of being referred to as ‘some people’.
ed,
It’s pretty commonplace here to do that. Since I quoted part of what you said, it’s obvious that I was referencing at least part of what you said. However, you are hardly the only one to want more harsh sanctions against Maria. So that’s why I said “some people”. Others have been pretty harsh and want more severe penalties.
I just thought it worthwhile to say that for an athlete to still be financially comfortable, does not in any way mitigate the blemish and stain on their record. She will be forever tainted by this and that is in some ways even a worse punishment.
I don’t have to resort to hiding and being vague when I disagree. In this case, you are it the only person with whom I disagree. It’s not meant to be personal. We have agreed many times in the past and this time we simply do not.
NNY: At no point have I called for a harsher punishment of Sharapova per se.. My quarrel is with the ITF who repeatably undermine the work of WADA and hinder the progress of stamping out the use of PEDs.
Her net worth is put at $195million. Hence the comment (you described as being a joke) that losing any of her sponsorship income is ‘but a drop in the ocean’ i.e. in the context of her mind boggling overall wealth. I rather doubt, when you are as as rich as she is, any loss of prestige (if it comes to that) is going to keep her awake at night.
What would be a tragedy is if this sorry affair tarnishes her reputation irretrievably. I still treasure the memory of watching this slip of a 17yr old facing down Serena at Wimbl3eon.
It is clear we are never going to agree on all this. Let’s leave it at that.
I remember Rafa standing up for Gasquet when he got busted for cocaine. He was very vocal in his support for him. Maybe he knew something that others didn’t. Just a reminder that Rafa was a loyal friend to Gasquet and gave him support.
**I have a feeling they tried read hard to negotiate with WADA on this. It’s perhaps the most high-profile case tennis has ever seen.**
Interesting take Fedfan. It has oftem occurred to me WADA must be sick to death at the number of times the ITF have over-ruled cases at the appeal stage.
Ed, yes, and I have a feeling that might happen again. I won’t accuse Maria of cheating for 10 years without knowing her medical condition and anyway the drug wasn’t banned but boy, what madness led her to ignore all the warnings over the past few months, god only knows.
Fedfan (AT 9:56 AM)
She said she wasn’t aware. [At her press conference on Monday.]
I can only deduce she believed she was too valuable a commodity to be brought down which may yet prove be the final outcome.
NNY @ 6.05am Introducing Rafa’s support of Gasquet is a red herring. You cannot compare that case with what is happening now. He was indulging in a recreational drug (albeit banned) not the long term use of a PED. Ditto Agassi.
There is not a lot of sympathy for her predicament being expressed by the women players – past or present.
Chris Evert explains why she thinks this is in the ESPN interview which nadline flagged up
http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/14925933/manufacturer-says-4-6-weeks-normal-treatment-drug-maria-sharapova-case
What has Gasquet testing positive for a recreational drug once, got to do with a player taking a PED legal or not for 10 years?