DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Wickmayer, Malisse suspended a year for anti-doping violatio

**TubOppomo** · 07-12-2009, 12:30 AM

You can hardly compare the two situations.

Andre was engaging in recreational drugs and failed a drug test and lied about it. The ATP screwed up and covered it up. With his "confession"...he is trying to take some responsibility.

Wickmayer merely had procedural issues. She didn't test positive for anything and thus....what is there to be emabrrassed about? A warning would have been quite sufficient. Her situation had nothing to do with Andre's and just isn't comparable.

Actually my first thought wasn't "blame agassi", but blame cycling. Cycling is HUGE in Belgium and of course there isn't another sport that has been caught up in doping affairs as cycling has been over the last few years. And there the lesson sadly was no smoke without fire. I remember reading countless articles about cyclists failing to inform the anti-doping-association about their where-abouts and few months later they actually failed a test.

I am by no means saying that this is the case for Yanina and Malisse. In fact, I think it is a shame that such a ruling puts both their careers at risk. Tennis doesn't have such a doping-prone history as cycling. It seems to be more a stupidity or carelessness, then a cover-up. So a warning or a much shorter suspension would have been enough.

07-12-2009, 12:30 AM	#27
TubOppomo Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 434 Senior Member	You can hardly compare the two situations. Andre was engaging in recreational drugs and failed a drug test and lied about it. The ATP screwed up and covered it up. With his "confession"...he is trying to take some responsibility. Wickmayer merely had procedural issues. She didn't test positive for anything and thus....what is there to be emabrrassed about? A warning would have been quite sufficient. Her situation had nothing to do with Andre's and just isn't comparable. Actually my first thought wasn't "blame agassi", but blame cycling. Cycling is HUGE in Belgium and of course there isn't another sport that has been caught up in doping affairs as cycling has been over the last few years. And there the lesson sadly was no smoke without fire. I remember reading countless articles about cyclists failing to inform the anti-doping-association about their where-abouts and few months later they actually failed a test. I am by no means saying that this is the case for Yanina and Malisse. In fact, I think it is a shame that such a ruling puts both their careers at risk. Tennis doesn't have such a doping-prone history as cycling. It seems to be more a stupidity or carelessness, then a cover-up. So a warning or a much shorter suspension would have been enough.
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