Cheats have no place in sport

I reckon it takes some courage for a sportsperson to admit to the use of banned drugs when playing a major tournament, but there appears to be more than a just hint of chicanery in Andre Agassi’s recent confession that has sent the tennis world into a tizzy. Would he have been so ‘Open’ (the title of the book is clever and catchy no doubt) had there been no commercial interest attached to it?

I must say that I was a trifle bewildered at Boris Becker claims to be perplexed that Agassi should decide to tell the world his deepest secrets now. “He is a very wealthy man and does not need the money,’’ rationalises Becker which ignores the aspect of human greed. How much money is enough is something that has never been answered in the long history of our species.

Scandals and controversies, especially those that are self-revealed, can translate easily into megabucks in a celebrity-obsessed society, and more so if this involves one of the most charismatic and colourful sportspersons of his era. Brooke Shields, Barbara Streisand to name two girlfriends and Steffi Graf as wife would make even Casanova envious. But Agassi’s book has more tell-all stories: about his bald pate, a golden mane that was in fact a wig, drugs and stuff. Thousands upon thousands of buyers are guaranteed for the book.

Where the drugs issue is concerned, Agassi’s remorse is better timed than even the leaping forehand cross court strokes that made him such a compelling player and frequent champion in his heyday. It conveniently comes so long after his transgressions that neither the game’s apex body, nor Wada — the global authority which fights drug abuse in sport — can do much now except fulminate.

That to me seems a clever, clever way to eat your cake and have it too. So Agassi is now bereft of guilt, the soul is cleansed, the titles are still intact (though he might get struck off the Hall of Fame), and the bank balance will also burgeon. Think of a better win-win situation?

I wish I could show the compassion that he seeks now, but my disappointment is acute. He was a player admired as much for his flamboyance as his easygoing demeanour. He was a pin-up stud, but also the boy next door, which was an extraordinarily appealing combo. He would fight tooth and nail for every point, but could also smile if he lost, and was adept on every surface making for a dream tennis player.

Alas, at least some of this persona has now emerged as bunkum. Agassi claims that when he did drugs, he was under a lot of stress. I can understand that. The life of an international sportsperson, especially a topnotcher like him, is daunting. The expectations from the public, his own ambition and the accompanying, glitzy lifestyle can make life surreal.

But such pressure comes with the turf, and there are several champions who go through their roller coaster careers without succumbing to such temptation, so all excuses are specious. Even if the drugs he took were ‘recreational’ and not those widely identified as enhancing performance, Agassi was an adult with quite a few years on the circuit. He took them with full knowledge of the consequences, and then chose to lie his way through the checks, balances and authority (which were obviously inadequate) at major tournaments.

Does this deserve punishment or pardon is the raging question as international tennis limps its way through arguably its most beleaguered phase in the modern era. There have been several allegations of match-fixing and tanking which has sullied the fair reputation of the sport and only the other day two players  Xavier Malisse and Yanina Wickmayer were banned for failing Wada’s ‘Whereabouts’ test. My position is clear: cheats have no place in sport.