Here are some photos of Maria Sharapova on Wednesday in Santa Monica, California. She was only two days removed from her public admission that she had tested positive for a banned substance. And it seemed like just another day for Maria. The thing is, I’m pretty sure this was a set-up photo shoot. Look at the Nike gear that’s clearly visible. Look at how she’s posing with the tennis racket. She called the paps – or someone on her team called the paps – to show her sponsors that she can still shill, that she can still make money for them. But can she?
As the days pass, Sharapova’s original story keeps falling apart. It really doesn’t look good. Vanity Fair ran a great piece about why Sharapova’s story doesn’t make much sense – she originally said she had been taking meldonium for 10 years because a heart condition and some concerns about diabetes. Except that the main features of meldonium are that it increases oxygen uptake and endurance. Also, a Latvian pharmaceutical company that produces meldonium said “patients usually require a four-to-six-week course of treatment that may be repeated twice a year, not a decade of continuous use.” And, as we already heard, Sharapova’s excuse of willful ignorance – she claims she simply did not click on a link – was bulls—t too. There were widespread reports, emails and warnings about the banning of meldonium.
USA Today also had a great piece about the pervasive usage of meldonium among Russian and Eastern European athletes. Did you know that meldonium isn’t even available in the US, which is where Sharapova lives full-time now? Meaning she had to go to Russia or Latvia or wherever to get the drug (which, again, she was taking on a daily basis for a decade), and then what? Illegally importing it into the US?
Vanity Fair also pointed out that so far, American Express, Avon and Evian haven’t suspended her contracts… yet. But they will likely do so. It’s also looking more and more like Sharapova will be suspended for a lengthy period of time, and that this is the ignoble end of her tennis career.
Final Sharapova-related stories: Andy Murray isn’t buying what Sharapova is selling. Murray told the BBC yesterday: “Clearly if you are taking performance-enhancing drugs and you fail a drugs test, you have to get suspended. I think since 1 January there have been 55 different athletes who have failed tests for meldonium. I find it strange that there’s a prescription drug used for heart conditions and so many athletes competing at the top level of their sport would have that condition. That sounds a bit off to me.” Murray also said that the International Tennis Federation needs to be better at testing players consistently. Oh, and Rafael Nadal thinks Sharapova needs to be punished too.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I love Andy Murray’s response, he’s got a history of not being afraid to really throw doping control and the ATP under the bus.
A nice dose of Scottish realism 🙂
Absolutely. Because top athletes are known for having heart conditions!
Yeah, I like how he pulls no punches with these coddled athletes.
I wonder if it feels like it sucks to run, now that she’s off her super exercise meds. her face tells me it’s no fun to run on the beach without meldonium.
There are a few studies that have show PEDs continue to have performance enhancing benefits in the long-term (sometimes up to ten years), even when they aren’t being taken anymore.
I reckon the pain on her face is the prospect of losing out on a $70m contract.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/02/training-center/an-analysis-of-the-long-term-effects-of-performance-enhancing-drugs_317590
(If anyone’s interested in more on the topic, the article above is specifically related to cycling, but the principle still stands).
Plus, there’s another drug that has virtually the same effects as mildronate but *isn’t* on WADAs prohibited substances list.
Because, reasons. *facepalm*
So, theoretically, Sharapova et al could still be taking a very similar drug, reap the same benefits and not be penalised once/if they return to competition.
She won’t be off meldonium. She will continue to take it and the Russians will just develop superior masking agents. It isn’t just a problem in Russia. You can bet your a** that elite American athletes take all sorts of dubious substances too.
I think it’s so weird someone would take a heart condition medication continuously even if it WAS legal and DID for sure enhance performance…wouldn’t you be worried about your long term health? That cannot be good for you. Daily for a decade? That sounds dangerous to me.
And Maria even dared to throw shade at Nadal, for supposedly being one of those athletes who take time off as a silent doping suspension. SHE IS MADE OF LIES!
Why is she even relevant? She has a mediocre tennis career but she got a bunch of endoresments because of the way she looks.
I’m no fan and have never enjoyed watching her play but there’s nothing mediocre about reaching World No. 1 fives times and winning 5 grand slams.
i guessing that drug helped with those wins right or was that all her
Busted isnt the first adjective i’d reach for in terms of anna kournikova’s face, are we looking at the same person, pinky??
But WOULD she have won any of those Grand Slams WITHOUT taking the drugs?? Or even gotten to her ranking without the drugs for TEN YEARS?? somehow, I doubt it, or she wouldnt’ve taken a drug that is only supposed to be used for 4-6 WEEKS for 10 YEARS. JMO
But that doesn’t matter, because the drugs were legal at that point (and she was very likely not the only one taking them, either).
To reach a Grand Slam and repeat it is a big deal. But I still don’t like her or her style of play. She grates but she isn’t mediocre.
Her mediocrity is being compared to Serena, her rival who you see her visibly seething with jealousy at. All that dope and she couldn’t beat Serena. Yet, SHE is a top earner in tennis. The levels of bs in this story stinks to the high heavens.
The only thing overrated about Sharapova is her Sugarpova sweets. It pisses me that she’s paid higher than Serena but that is not her fault.
She won 5. Serena won 21. Roger Federer has 17.
Maria shouldn’t be as big a deal as she was made into but that’s what is done for attractive Russian athletes. On the list of grand slams, a woman with 5 is not listed online. The list stops at 6.
First time I heard that being Russian was a selling point. Many who were not obviously roided up were still typecast as frozen faced, robotic and masculine, as compared to those fun loving and feminine American gals. Maria was / is a good player and paying her more than Serena in endorsements is the market and capitalism in action. Aren’t most Americans quite keen on that?
Let me start by saying don’t read this. I’m about to talk out of my rear for half an hour. LOL, 😀 I would not call Maria mediocre. She’s an all-time great. But I think it’s more than fair to question exactly how talented Sharapova is. (I say that as someone who likes to put a verbal asterisk by Steffi Graf’s grand slam record because of what happened to Monica Seles.) Maria reached #1. Big whoop. Truly and honestly. I know that sounds rude, blasé, and absurd. Of course being #1 is impressive. But it’s also relative. Sharapova’s been #1 five times (2005-2012), for a total of 21 weeks. That period, around the time of Justine Henin’s ’04 injury, post-Amelie Mauresmo becoming #1, was not a good time for the WTA, In particular, after Justine Henin’s first retirement, prior to Serena reestablishing her dominance, there was an era in women’s tennis with a series of #1 players who couldn’t back up a grand slam win (Ivanovic, 12 weeks), didn’t win/couldn’t win a G.S. (Janković, 18 weeks; Safina, 26 weeks) or even get to a G.S. final while they held the #1 ranking, (Wozniacki, 67 weeks). As far as winning Grand Slam titles goes, there’s more to the discussion than just the numbers. There’s a reason no one would say Roy Emerson was better than Rod Laver or Bjorn Borg. In fact, here is the Tennis Channel’s list from 2012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Greatest_of_All_Time I think it’s clear that one major difference between Sharapova and the rest is marketing. So even in her generation Sharapova should rank behind Venus, Henin, Clijsters. But her reputation and fame doesn’t match that. I think that’s the temptation to call her mediocre. I would lean more towards overhyped.
I want to be clear. I don’t mean to gang-up and bash Sharapova specifically. (Like I said about my thoughts towards Graff.) I would make a slighty, sorta’, similar argument about Roger Federer. I will easily say that Roger’s the most talented player who ever lived. He happened to come along in-between generations. As the Agassi’s were fading out, leaving the Hewitt’s, Safin’s, and Roddick’s as some other top players in their generation for a while. (The 21-3 Federer-Roddick rivalry is oddly similar to Serena-Sharapova, LOL.) Nothing really happened to Roger. Federer-Nadal peaked in ’05-’09. Djokovic was more 2010-present. It’s not like Roger was on the downside of his career. It was just that Nadal, then Djokovic, then Murray, got better. And when all is said and done, his record against Rafa and Novak will be a huge talking point in the conversation about his legacy. So–BUT, for the past 10 years, Sharapova has indeed mostly peaked at weak moments in women’s tennis. I think she was in the right place at the right time–The Big Babe tennis boom. The “Christ! Can anybody hold their serve?!” era–And often won titles against weaker competition. You can only beat who is in front of you. But it is what it is. Maria’s most impressive G.S. wins were her first, last, and only Wimbledon title against Serena way back when and the 2006 US Open (first, last, only) against Henin two years after that. I don’t think her 2008 Australian Open win against Tošić, (waning) Davenport, Vesnina, Dementieva, Henin (who retired four months later), Jankovic, and Ivanovic, was particularly outstanding. Same goes for her 2012 French Open title against players that I’m not even going to name, because Kvitova and Errani are the tops among them. (Kvitova’s lovely and holds 2 Wimbledon titles. But she’s like 78-40 on clay and getting to that semi was her best result.) Maria beat the wildly inconsistent Sam Stosur and a baby Genie Bouchard on her way to winning her 2nd French title, (Bouchard’s another “great white, blond, thin, hope” for tennis. Lots of hype, easily outdone by many peers.) I adore Serena (my vote for G.O.A.T.). But the lack of competition there and the evolution of court surfaces are also a major factor in why she’s been able to add to her French Open collection after an 11 year gap between even getting to a French final.
Btw, did you notice something there? Sharapova has never won back to back G.S. titles, won more than one in a year, or defended any of them. I mean, Maria’s a great player. Don’t get me wrong. BUT she’s like a poor man’s Vika in variety and a poor man’s Venus athletically. (That’s one reason Sharapova and players like her are no real trouble for Serena. There’s nothing Maria can throw at Serena that she didn’t grow up facing in Venus. Maria and the other “Big Babes” actually are closer to the basher type of players that talking heads often try to say about Serena, diminishing her talent.) There’s a reason Maria’s always had competitive rivalries specifically with players who are very similar to her. She was (pre-shoulder surgery) good at hitting people off the court or beating up on lesser, or physically weaker, players. But if you could hang with her or smack the ball, like Henin, Mauresmo, Clijsters, Serena, or Azarenka and Kerber now, you can do just fine against her.
Ivanovic won the Roland Garros, so she at least had that. I’m not going to discredit Maria’s accomplishments in any way, despite not being her fan and not liking her style of playing.
As a huge Simona Halep fan, I have to say that winning 1 Grand Slam is a huuuge accomplishment and it’s something that I truly hope she can win at some point in her career.
But this kind on mentality from tennis fans: that players need to win back to back grand slams, that winning only 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 GSs is peanuts, that not having “real competition” somehow diminishes the accomplishments of these tennis players, is what may push them into taking performance enhancing drugs, steroids, hormones and more.
I’m not excusing Maria in any way or any other player that is or has doped for that matter, but us, tennis fans, need to cut players some slack! I don’t know how Serena or Steffi did it, but not every player has to win dozens of grands slams to be accomplished or to be a true professional.
Let’s enjoy the game, appreciate the efforts and sacrifices these players display and hope we to have a clean, fair sport from now on.
Exactly!!! She isn’t even that good, she continues to be popular because she’s tall, white and blonde and she has that “rivalry” with Serena.
I saw a funny tweet that Maria’s drug use is pretty pointless since it still didn’t stop her from losing to Serena 18 times in a row LOL
I once read an article where she stated that she started playing tennis to get recognized and become a model.
@ coco just a quick reminder that she started playing tennis at the ripe age of 5. So, let’s forgive fetus some silly thoughts
Maybe she could date Lance Armstrong and rock that one testicle of his and his one gram of Integrity. Does Meldonium make you crap in the sack-just heard a rumor that there are no Grand Slams between the sheets with this one. Career finita! Cheater, Cheater, Borscht eater!
Isn’t she the highest paid female tennis player in the world or something?
Highest paid because of Nike deals etc. Care to guess why Serena is earning much much less money from ads even though she’s a way better player?
She doesn’t look that good to me! I mean her face is ok, she’s fit and has nice skin. But she’s not the prettiest and her endorsements are probably linked to her success and her hustle
“taking meldonium for 10 years ” = Not good!
Starting at 18 years old! Really, really not good. A heart disease medication for a teenager who at the time was a top ranked athlete but felt the need to take drugs to stay there is pretty sad. There has got to be long term health consequences down the line so I would save that Nike money.
As long as it wasn’t banned, I don’t have a problem with her taking it for however long she has taken it for whatever reason. She should have stopped once it was banned, but why does she need to explain why she took it for decades if it wasn’t against the rules?
Good question!
I agree. She should just apologize and wait for the committee to decide what her punishment will be. It must be awful to have to end your career like this (contrast this to Peyton Manning). But she took the risk of continuing to take the medication even after it was banned, and she got caught.
I don’t understand why she would keep taking it when she would know all the top tennis players get drug tested regularly (although not regularly enough according to Andy Murray) and nearly always after a grand slam.
I’m not a fan of Maria but she should have known a newly banned drug legally available in Russia would probably mean Russian athletes would be selected for testing sooner rather than later. Her story (long term use of a drug designed for short use only) makes her a terrible role model for young players coming into the game.
That’s what I can’t figure out.
She needs to explain because she brought it up! Had she not gone out there and lied like a lawyer, and just apologized for not stopping before January and quietly took her lumps, there’d be a different conversation going on right now. But she brought up using it for medical conditions in order to cover her butt and win sympathy. Now people are calling her out on her lies, and rightfully so. As Nixon himself explained on both August 29, 1972 and August 15, 1973 in his addresses to the press/nation about his involvement in Watergate, “What really hurts in matters of this sort is not the fact that they occur, because overzealous people in campaigns do things that are wrong. What really hurts is if you try to cover it up.”
-TheRealPinky
Oh, ok. I couldn’t figure that out.
Thus the phrase ‘it’s always the cover up’. People will forgive a lot of failings but they hate lies.
You’re right, it was a legal performance enhancer. If she hadn’t kept using it, she would have been fine. The same thing is going on with the Nike Oregon Project runners – they’re edging as absolutely close as they can get to the line without crossing over into prohibited territory. Ethical? Maybe not as much. But legal? Yep.
Yes. I’ve been thinking about the Oregon crew, too.
The NOP stuff is pretty crazy to see how close someone will get to the line without going over. Alberto Salazar testing testosterone cream on his son to measure at exactly what level of application he went over the legal limit?
I know. It’s um… honestly, I don’t know how to describe it.
The more NOP tries to drag Kara Goucher (they like to go on LetsRun.com anonymously) the more it makes me think her accusations have merit.
This is, of course, heresy here in the UK, due to Mo Farah. Must. Not. Mention. We don’t have enough medal winners to lose any to Oregon. Mind you, to listen to the BBC, Seb Coe is the IOC’s only hope. Hmm!
And if she was concerned about diabetes, why open Sugarpova, her candy store? Chris Evert had some great shade, saying how she doesn’t have many friends on tour by her own choice. And finally, from Serena’ s original statement, when she said Nike knew how to make great decisions, right after Nike suspended Maria, I think that was the best shade of all.
I had the same thought yesterday! The whole diabetes excuse threw me for a loop, because, “Doesn’t she have a candy company?”
Yes… Who gets to frolic around in the beach after being busted for doping??
Sugarpova!!
Who gets to instagram a photo of themselves chillin, peering at their 7 yellow jerseys, just days after being busted for doping??
Livestrong.
But who gets to laugh their ass off at the fact that they dragged the floor with the a$$ of a woman who had to jack herself up in the wimbleton bathrooms just hours before competing the best??
Queen Serena Williams.
I’d rather be laughing at fools for the rest of my life, than have a jersey or plate.
Serena wins!!!!!!
I’m sure Serena is gratified to have such appealing fans…
Nadal wants to watch out! If I were him, I would not draw attention to myself. I am clinging on to belief in Murray (and Federer) but that’s about it.
I would also be very careful about making this a Russian/Eastern European thing. Doping is EVERYWHERE. And sport is highly political. And it’s not a stretch to argue that it’s harder to catch American dopers because their sport has the most money, so their doping is the most sophisticated and is therefore the most ahead of the anti-doping authorities.
Whole thing is becoming a sh!t show. Sharapova is a cheat. And so are half the other sports stars we look up to, wherever they come from.
+1
I add that Nadal wants to sue a French ex- Health minister because she said that when a professional sport guy/woman stopped during 6/9 months because of an injury,it OFTEN was in fact a suspension for a failed drug test .She gave Nadal this year in example
“it’s not a stretch to argue that it’s harder to catch American dopers because their sport has the most money, so their doping is the most sophisticated and is therefore the most ahead of the anti-doping authorities.”
I would agree with that statement. Anywhere there’s a lot of cash to be had in prizes and endorsements, there’s incentive to cheat. Even in the relatively poor sport of trail running, it’s becoming something that the governing bodies are having to address and race directors have to develop policies about when “caught” athletes serve out their bans.
Sixer… Trapped. Have you seen it? It’s getting a lot of good press and I’m going to binge on it this weekend before the first episodes expire next week.
I’m not intending to sound anti-American or anything, though. Just that it isn’t a country thing and that aspect gets blown up for political reasons. Let’s avoid sport being dragged into a new Cold War… again! And I totally accept all the comments about media portrayals and sponsorships and the like having a race basis to them. I mentioned poor Caster Semenya the other day. That is how the media treats female and muscular black athletes when their name is in the spotlight. And it ain’t nice.
Trapped – yes! Not recommended to you as I wasn’t sure you wanted non-Brit stuff. I watch as much of the European drama we get offered as I can. This one, I think, is enlightening if you want to get a picture of how Icelanders think and live, and what a cool, tense show you can create for half the money US and UK networks spend. I really liked Thirteen. Less fussed about Doctor Thorne, which is a shame as I love Trollope.
It’s not a US vs Russia thing. But I will point out, there are very pointed questions right now about systemic, widespread doping in Russian athletics right now. To the point where they may not even be allowed to compete in Rio at all. For that to be happening there has to be a major breakdown in the system in Russia (it doesnt have to do with the # of athletes who fail drug tests) Not to mention the convenient death of the Russian Anti-Doping head?
I think a lot of it is the Soviets and now Russians it was a concerted governmental effort (the govt basically ran the Olympic teams and training) while in the US/west it was more an individual money thing.
I’m not Sixer- I would not dare to aspire — but Trapped is great. Big hairy men in anoraks trudging around frozen landscapes as the murders pile up…but it actually is very gripping.
Bridget – oh, absolutely. I’m not suggesting the Russian system isn’t up to its neck in it. It most certainly is.
But, at the same time, we are at a point where the rest of the world looks at the US track and field squad with the default assumption that every one of them is a doper, where Justin Gatlin is actually allowed to compete, and where even Tyson Gay (loved by me) is a cheat. And in world where Mo Farah (also loved by me) went from zero to hero with whatever the heck it is they are doing in Oregon.
That the authorities are considering suspending Russia from Rio but nigh-on ignoring wholesale cheating by other countries is, for me, political. Doping is widespread and there is no way that the authorities in other countries aren’t complicit or at least turning blind eyes.
I’d also say that tennis is not the sport to be offering country vs country comparisons, since it’s basically supra-national. Players might technically be accountable to a particular country’s authorities, but the sport itself is almost entirely international these days.
Disclaimer: looking to the IOC for fairness and consistency is like looking to my cat for it.
The difference is that essentially the Russian (and Chinese *allegedly*) is state sponsored doping. I simply felt that folks saying that it comes down to US vs Russia bias are glossing over what’s going on with Russian sports both historically and right now. That isn’t to say that the US is clean itself, because certain sports are obviously riddled with dopers. Some systems are corrupt through and through. It’s been really interesting to follow this in track and field both internationally and in the US – at this point, I put no stock in any athlete being truly “clean”. I’m not trying to make it a “Russia-Eastern Europe thing” but I feel like it’s important to note what’s going on with Russia.
But yes, all that said I agree that tennis isn’t really an appropriate comparison. Though I do actually wonder what kind of pressure Sharapova gets as a Russian national.
Sixer and Anne tommy, when I saw the trailer, I thought Trapped looked like something I’d enjoy. All I really know about Iceland is what trail runners post on their instagram. It’s a dream place for stomping around the wilderness, but I know nothing of the people. I look forward to binge-watching this weekend.
On a similar note, the Norwegian film, The Wave, is looking like a must-see catastrophe film and just got released here in the US.
@ Bridget – I think I can agree on all that!
@ Nutballs and Anne Tommy – it’s non-Reykjavík Iceland too, which I knew absolutely nothing about. I love the beardy policeman! On that note, BBC4 always carries a foreign language drama in that slot on Saturday nights, so well worth checking out the new one when Trapped finishes, because they’re usually good.
Beardy policeman in beautiful, snowy mountain settings with dead bodies piling up are MY EVERYTHING.
Goes without saying I enjoyed ep 1…
Your comment about Trapped made me curious since I’m always looking for a good series to binge. I am currently in the middle of The Night Manager and Happy Valley 2. I started watched Trapped and am riveted. The production values are great and I keep thinking how The Revenant actors complained about how tough they had it. Their conditions were mild compared to the freezing blizzards this series shows. Thanks for the tip.
lucy… yea! Glad you’re enjoying it too. Sixer turned me on to Happy Valley, Broadchurch, Shetland, Dickensian and now Trapped. I need to watch more Scandinavian crime series, methinks.
Nutballs: everyone loves The Killing. My favourite is The Bridge, which has a lead female detective on the spectrum. Saga Noren forever! Arne Dahl is also worth looking out. Next week, in that same Saturday slot, BBC4 are starting a new Danish crime show called Follow The Money. But for my money, the best ever Scandi drama is Borgen, a Danish politcal show. I have major girl crush on the star Sidse Babett Knudsen.
I side-eyed her story as she was telling it at the press conference, but that’s probably just my inner cynic. Meldonium is not available in Australia, either, although visitors are allowed to bring in prescription medicines for their own use, providing they can show the medicines have been prescribed by a doctor, are for their use only and, obviously, are only carrying a resonable quantity. I’m not buying the “medical issues” story either. I’m sure she’d have milked that somehow in the past ten years had it been true.
I have such a hard time comprehending why any athlete would play with fire like this. Of course you’re going to get caught! They ALL get caught!
Not only getting caught, but if this is a med that should be used for only 4 – 6 weeks, what are the long term health effects after using it continuously for 10 years? And now that she can no longer take it and plays (if not suspended or when the suspension is over) what will she put in her body next?
I wish your statement was correct, but unfortunately I think you’re very wrong Kristen. I love tennis but I think the sport, like many others, has largely turned a blind eye to doping. They have traditionally made the testing so lax that athletes don’t care about using banned substances.
“I find it strange that there’s a prescription drug used for heart conditions and so many athletes competing at the top level of their sport would have that condition.”
THIS is the most damning! What are the odds? They were knowingly taking these things for performance enhancement.
Exactly. It’s not tic tacs they’re all popping. They have plenty of scientists on their personal teams that they can moniter the before and after and see a marked improvement.
Didn’t some US runners get caught for some PED years ago and they all claimed to have narcolepsy and that’s why they had to use it?When there’s enough money I guess there will always be a doctor willing to write bogus diagnosis and unnecessary prescriptions.
First and foremost, she took something that wasn’t banned for years, that’s fine. She continued to take it after it was banned, that’s not allowed and she should be punished for the 2 months she continued to take the drug after it was banned.
Here’s what I don’t get – why is everyone diminishing her career? She isn’t nearly as talented as the Williams sisters, but she has won 5 grand slams. How does winning 5 grand slams make her mediocre? Yes, I understand people are mad about how she gets more endorsements than Serena. I agree that is absolutely ridiculous. But she won 5 grand slams, and you can’t say it was because of the meds, because the meds didn’t become illegal until January.
If you want to have a talk about how absurd it is that Serena Williams (in my opinion, the greatest tennis player ever, man or woman) can’t get more endorsements, then I agree it is awful and dumb and something should be done about it. But it just seems odd that people seem to want to reduce Sharapova down to her looks (this blog did it yesterday), when she has won 5 professional tournaments. Just seems pretty reductive to me.
So yeah, she cheated, intentionally or not, it doesn’t matter. She cheated, and she should be on trial for that, but reducing her down to her looks and ability to promote herself is pretty gross.
This.
I’m not a fan of hers either, but she is a great tennis player. Is she in the same league as Serena? No, but then very few people are. You have Serena and Stefi, and then there is everyone else.
But 5 grand slams is an awesome achievement.
The problem is that it’s a lot easier for the public to blame Sharapova for Serena’s lower endorsements because then they don’t have to cop to society’s general racism. Blonde white girls sell more stuff. It’s gross, but true. If it wasn’t Sharapova, it would be another white girl.
When it wasn’t Sharapova it was Kornikova, a totally untalented tennis player. Yes its bizarre that Serena doesn’t get more enforcements. I’m a blonde white girl and I’d buy whatever that legend was shilling.
I think a lot of the comparison with Serena Williams is centered on how this all would have played out so differently had it been Serena caught doping. Maria initially was afforded a lot of initial good will when she revealed that she failed a drug test. And yes, I do think that was do to Maria’s race, looks, white privilege. Then it came out that Maria ignored 5 warnings on meldonium being banned. Her story became less credible. Many critics are saying that had this been Serena, those same people that gave Maria the early benefit of doubt would rake Serena over he coals immediately. I fully believe much of the dislike of Serena Williams is because she is black, an “aggressive” player, and not the typical tennis player.
Perfectly said.
The dislike for Serena is absolutely based on race and sexism. But that’s not Sharapova’s fault.
If Sharapova was American instead of Russian, she would be celebrated beyond belief as America’s Sweetheart. Her current success would look like nothing in comparison. But because she is Russian, she is easy to throw under the bus.
And the thing is, nether Serena nor Sharapova can win this. Serena is American, but she does not conform to the pretty white girl standard.
Sharapova conforms, but she is Russian and she will never be as good as Serena. It’s just not a fair situation all around.
I call BS. Not everything is about race. People would be harder on Serena than Maria simply because Serena is the best of the best.
Jay
So you’ve missed all the context clues of Serena’s race being a major part of her treatment in tennis. Including having fans screaming down racial slurs at her?
Jay – *doping* isn’t about race. But media treatment of female athletes is. I mentioned her above, but just look into what happened to Caster Semenya. And she wasn’t accused of doping. What happened to her was disgusting. Because she was black with a muscular physique. And won things.
I agree with jay. The more successful the athlete the more interesting the story is. However race could still factor in, hard to prove it doesn’t!
I have to agree with everything you’re saying. Yes she got cought, she should pay for it, but no way is she mediocre player. I remember watching Maria when she won her first Grnad at Wimbledon she was 15 or 16 years old! No mediocre!
It feels that this site loves Serena and anyone in her way needs to be put down!
I don’t like Serena, though I respect her achievements. Is it because she’s black? No. I don’t like Federer (yes, sacrilege I know), and never warmed to Jimmy Connors. To give just two examples. I am an equal opportunities disliker.
I agree with this. Why can’t we recognize Maria’s accomplishments just because she happens to be pretty? She was born beautiful and and is maximizing her earnings, and why shouldn’t she? She can be pretty and a great player. Of course attractive people get endorsements. Why do you think models exist? Serena is a superior athlete in all ways and should get more recognition, but she has also made some pretty stupid comments publicly. I can see why companies might see her as a liability. I remember her shaming the Steubenville rape victim in an interview a couple of years ago, although she was smart enough to apologize for her hurtful comments.
I wholeheartedly agree! I can’t believe I’m defending MS! But she has some great accomplishments! And honestly, anybody with her looks and determination would have taken advantage.
What I really disprove of is her lies during the press conference, the fact that from an ethical standpoint she took drugs that she needn’t have have taken, and her unsportsmanly behaviour on court (grunting, delaying the opponent from serving, etc.).
@Maude: qWhether the meds were legal until this year is not the point. If she had won her 5 GS against players also doping with meldonium, then it would have been a fair contest.
Liar, liar, tennis racket on fire.
People don’t simply take medicine they don’t need casually and for fun. All of these athletes have some of the best doctors and scientists on their teams and are able to have tests done to show how well they’ve been performing before and after.
Ten years of a medication that increases oxygen that was not even approved in the United States? She’s lucky she didn’t Lance Armstrong herself and end up getting cancer from excessive use of the substance. I’m happy to see it fall apart since she was always so ridiculously painted as the ideal tennis player and the hope of the sport.
She is a great player. Evidence? FIVE grand slams. Serena and Venus have always had a rep for being obnoxious and abrasive. Sure, Serena is a more talented player, but that’s the only thing she’s got going for her. It’s the players that play well, that speak well and with articulation, who carry themselves with poise and grace that are going to win the most endorsements.
Obnoxious and Abrasive lol seriuosly . Just say what you really mean and we all know what you really mean
“…that speak well and with articulation, who carry themselves with poise and grace”
hmmm.
You’re not slick. We can spot coded racism.
Sure seems like it.
Which is kind of hilarious because Serena is consistently well-spoken, professional and polished in every interview I’ve seen her in, more so than Maria IMO.
Because Sharapova is SO gracious, right? She sure showed how gracious she could be when in the middle of a press conference called in to talk about her cheating, she ended up talking about how ugly the carpet of the hotel was and how beneath her it was. She has a nasty personality and when you compare her 5 grand slams to Serena’s 19, well, I can see where people find her mediocre.
No matter how much grace and poise you have as a woman it USUALLY comes down to looks and body. That is why Marie is now doing pap walks to show off her looks and body for Nike to take her back. Replace Marie with an unattractive White woman who is filled with grace and poise, doubt she would ever have that many endorsements.
I like nice people but I don’t have problems with aggressive and abrasive female athletes, they aren’t models and don’t need to be “soft spoken” and “sugary”. Society places too much pressure on women to all be a certain way.
Yes women must ALWAYS be poised and graceful.
Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe weren’t bound to those requirements though, right?
“Grace” and “poise” are so frequently nice ways of saying “submissive”. All these words that we use to describe ideal women’s behavior essentially mean “shut up”. Which is funny because it’s not like Sharapova is a shrinking violet herself.
Ugh +1,000,000, Bridget.
Sorry, but different era. Male tennis players TODAY are most certainly bound to those requirements. Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic, and so on are routinely blasted for their boorishness.
I’m completely lost as to how Serena ISN’T poised and graceful. Beautiful to watch on the court and gracious and classy in interviews. I agree with Bridget,
Aw h*ll here we go with the coded speak…..articulate anyone?
articulate is not a dirty word.
don’t EVEN.
Yes I will EVEN. Being “articulate” has long been one of the racial code speaks words for blacks. I know because I have had it used against me. Don’t tell me what I haven’t been through and experienced.
Coded? No. She has repeatedly been horrible and condescending to people. Here’s a link to a WSJ article that mentions her degrading attack on a chair umpire. When people cater to her and give her what she wants, she’s delightful. But call her out on anything and she’s vicious. Quotes from article “You’re nobody” and “We were in America last time I checked”. Her halo has its share of dings.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-highs-and-lows-of-serena-williams-1410219289
There it is, folks. The dog-whistle we were all waiting for. Nobody’s buying what you’re selling. Serena is arguably the greatest professional tennis player of all time and she deserves to be treated as such. No amount of flailing and pearl-clutching by racists is going to change that. Deal with it.
I find it odd that Sharapova’s family doctor is apparently based in Russia or Latvia when she’s lived in the US for over 20 years. It doesn’t make sense.
Not odd at all. She has a residence in the US but travels a lot. Why not keep her usual doctor?
This really seems more and more like a media feeding frenzy. Meldonium is not an “illegal drug” and she wouldn’t need to smuggle it into the U.S. with a doctor’s prescription for it. Not approved by the FDA doesn’t mean it was banned by the FDA and declared the devil’s work, it just means that the manufacturers didn’t seek FDA approval because they weren’t marketing in the USA. The FDA is not the world’s drug and food watchdog and the USA represents only a tiny percent of the world’s population. Everything isn’t always about Americans. There would be no obvious reason for the FDA to not approve it if the manufacturer went through all the expensive process to do so.
I looked through non-US sites and saw that meldonium is clearly and openly being marketed as a drug for athletes to improve stamina, in addition to other medical indications, regardless of what the Latvian manufacturer said in response to its use for heart conditions. It’s no deep dark secret. One site I saw had explicit instructions for doses suggested during training and during events. If I could find such information by googling for a few seconds, anybody could.
And if more than 55 athletes have tested positive since the sports ban went into effect – well, I can’t really believe that all those people jeopardized their eligibility deliberately. That suggested to me a drug clearance problem combined with a very sensitive test (testing today is definitely far more sensitive than in the past and picks up very low levels). So people may have stopped the drug before January 1 but still had traces that could be picked up. Someone posted earlier that the drug takes three days to clear, but my reading (I’m a chemist) suggests that no one actually knows the clearance rate for detectability in such tests, especially at doses athletes would use. They generally just look at clearance in the sense of when the level drops below the level where effects (or side effects) would be noted. They would not be looking at the levels for absolute detectability, especially since the drug was not then on any banned list for athletes. The time required to get below detectability limits could easily be weeks or months.
I don’t know if Sharapova just stopped it too late to not show up on a test in 2016 or if as she says she didn’t realize it was now banned or a combination of both. But it really seems as though people are blowing this way out of proportion. Let the sports people figure out what her culpability might be and decide on suspension- it’s about their particular rules, not some burning moral issue. Athletes always try to do things to improve their performance besides just unassisted training, whether by tweaking their diet (including timing before and during events or training), taking nutritional and herbal supplements and other treatments, and nowadays through synthetic drugs as well. The athletic commissions try to rein it in, but it’s a slow process and maybe a futile one because there are always new things coming along. They might be better off giving up and releasing a list of allowed substances and requiring that everyone submit a list of anything else they may be taking for individual or group approval. In other words, let the default be unallowed if not explicitly allowed. Then at least they would be insisting on full disclosure from the beginning rather than always trying to shut the barn door after the horses have run off.
This was a really thoughtful and well-informed comment.
I don’t follow tennis so maybe I’m simply not as invested as other commenters, but I happen to agree with you that this seems like it was blown way out of proportion.
I disagree. For a comparison, look at Mark Maguire: he did in fact use steroids when he was a player. They weren’t tested and they weren’t necessarily banned by baseball when he did them, but they’ve forever tainted him because he clearly used a performance enhancer to get ahead.
Performance enhancers are all legal until they’re illegal. Science is way ahead of regulation.
Thanks for this-it’s surprising that more folks don’t realize that there are many drugs out there that are perfectly fine and aren’t FDA-approved.
Some of these comments re Serena and Sharapova remind me of the Angelina/Jen stan wars. Seriously- Serena is a better player, but the fact she has,what, $17 or whatever million in endorsements is Sharpova’s fault? Why not ask those companies who have dropped Sharapova who they intend to replace her with?
See, your comment is what happens when people don’t have basic reading comprehension skills. Nobody said Serena’s lack of endorsements was Sharapova’s fault. Let me spell this out for you in words you can understand: we are laying the blame for the poor treatment Serena is subjected to (and her relative lack of endorsements in comparison to her status as world #1) at the feet of a racist society that would rather see a comparatively (to Serena, that is) mediocre tennis player receive massive endorsement contracts, than the undisputed greatest female tennis player of all time – Serena Williams.
Now, you probably still don’t get it, because people like you are almost always willfully ignorant, but at least you can’t pretend that the difference hasn’t been made clear to you.
I think people are blowing the possible benefit that Maria was getting from this drug out of proportion too. If this drug does what it says it does, wouldn’t we have known about it AGES ago? It’s a miracle! It’s the reason Maria Sharapova can play tennis!!! Nah, very unlikely. It may give her more stamina, and may increase her blood oxygen levels, but so does a bottle of water and a banana, so…
If that’s the case why not just stick to the water and the banana?
No idea, but I have to believe if this drug is as miraculous to athletes as all the critics are claiming, it would at least be known about by now in the US. I realize the US isn’t the end all and be all of modern medicine, but anything that helps people feel fitter and younger? That’s a billion dollar product worthy of late night infomercials!
No one is suggesting its the reason she can play tennis or that any person in sports is miraculously amazing because of their illicit drug use. We’re saying if you’re at 55 it takes you to 60 when you wouldn’t have gotten there on your own. For all the talk about how the drug doesn’t do much Maria’s own career has been stagnant for years after an initial career high.
It seems to be a case of her using a boost to compete in a sport she’d have slipped out of based on her own failing skills. There’s also a certain level of branding to her that seems to make her seem like a better player than she is. Even in these comment threads she’s touted as this amazing player when she’s quite low in the sport compared to her competitors. Many of whom play much better than her and have far less endorsements. It stands to reason she was doing whatever she could to not lose out on her major source of income.
Athletes at the highest echelon consistently walk a very fine line between what is legal and illegal. Many medical performance enhancers were at one point not illegal either: blood transfusions, EPO, HGH. But once they’re banned, they’re BANNED. Sharapova was taking a legal performance enhancer for a decade, but the moment it was on the banned list she needed to stop. It doesn’t matter whether or not it was legal at one point, Sharapova failed a drug test and will be facing serious sanctions.
Thank you – this is the best comment in this discussion. Factual and informative.
I agree that it doesn’t make any sense for that many to be caught.
However, I found a study saying the half-life of Mildronate is only 6.5 hours. (Doubt link will work, so just google mildronate mass spectometry). So, Mildronate should clear in a few days no matter how sensitive the test. Maybe a week if the initial dose was really high. But I’m not a chemist, so I could’ve easily missed something in that article. Please check it out and report back.
I definitely agree that it’s not a burning moral issue. All athletes are trying whatever they can to enhance their performance. Mildronate was not prohibited until January, plenty of athletes were using it. It’s not like she was cheating for a decade, it’s only a couple of months. But it is very odd that so many have been caught out, and that’s what I’m really curious about.
Also, I think you’re mistaken with regards to the illegal/just-not-approved issue. I actually looked it up I looked it up when this story first broke because I’m not American, and thought it was weird people were saying “illegal”. (Here in Oz it is legal to import non-approved drugs unless they’re specifically named as a controlled substance.) According to the FDA website, it is illegal to import non-approved drugs into the US. They have a no-prosecute guidance policy for minor personal infractions, but it’s still technically illegal. (The best kind of illegal?)
She definitely would come under the personal exemption rules for bringing in non-FDA approved medication for personal use, it’s not illegal at all in those circumstances. She would have started treatment in another country and have documentation from her doctor (all listed in the rules for the exemption) and most importantly she wasn’t selling it in the United States. Usually a 90 day personal supply is allowed. Imagine the chaos otherwise, if people couldn’t visit the USA without needed medications prescribed outside the USA. There is also a difference between drugs that have been refused approval and drugs that have simply not undergone the approval process.
I saw at least one source with the 6.5 hour half-life listed also. So 500mg should be down to 250mg in 7 hrs, down to 125mg in 14 hrs, etc. Still don’t know what that means in terms of the failed tests, though. Clearance rates can vary individually and also depending on the exact dosage form. But most importantly, we need to know the detection limits for the actual testing done in comparison with the initial level since what matters is when the level gets below that limit, and also the clearance rates of metabolites that may be tested. Marijuana metabolites hang around long enough, for instance, that it’s easy to fail a test several weeks after the last use. Tests for opiates are sensitive enough that you better not eat a poppy seed bun if you’re likely to be tested (people on probation are warned about that). Confusions also happen because the tests are actually more indirect than most people realize- herbal teas can be mistaken for marijuana because of similar metabolites, don’t know if they’ve gotten around that problem today. And everybody is likely to test positive for cocaine these days with the most sensitive equipment because of the paper money handling situation (used money picks up perfumes enough that I have to keep it in a zip lock bag with activated charcoal since I’m sensitive, so I am not surprised about the cocaine issue since it is likely to pass through drug dealer/user hands eventually also). This was pointed out when someone was demonstrating a new gadget in Congress for drug detection on skin (fingers, I assume) and weren’t they all surprised to be categorized as druggies… They had to adjust the sensitivity a tad to avoid it.
Anyway, the people who do know the detection limits of their equipment (and what exactly they are detecting) are the folks who made the rule and are enforcing it. And they also will know the exact numbers for each failed test and be able to compare that with the likely original level, assuming that the test is quantitative. This will give them some idea when the last dose was taken – was it definitely in 2016 or could it have occurred in 2015? That’s a pretty crucial point. So we really should wait for their decision before wasting more energy jumping to conclusions about how awful Sharapova is or isn’t. They should be able to make such decisions even if the half life of the drug or its metabolites are not precisely known.
Re FDA: I know she’d qualify for what you’re calling a personal exemption, but that doesn’t make it legal, it just means they won’t prosecute you. From the FDA: “If such circumstances can be substantiated [3 month supply, medical prescription, etc] … the guidance suggests that refraining from taking action against the illegal importation, in the exercise of enforcement discretion, may be appropriate.” That’s pretty clear. Illegal, but they won’t prosecute you. But like I said, I was just quibbling because it works differently here in Oz, and I was surprised the US laws were structured that way.
Re clearance: Tests are sensitive, but after 60 days, if the half life is 6.5 hours, the initial level would’ve halved 221 times. That’s an insane number. (If you take a piece of paper, and fold it in half 50 times, it’d be so thick it’d reach 2/3 of the way to the sun. Exponential growth & decay are freaky.) An accurate test is in the order of 1ng/ml. Not 0.0000000000[insert 50 more zeros here] ng /ml.
I considered metabolites, but the paper I was looking at was definitely testing for mildronate itself, not a metabolite. (They physically spiked urine samples with known concentrations of mildronate, got a certain mass spectrometer reading, and found that same reading in 2.2% of athletes urine samples.) It’s one of the studies that prompted WADA to ban mildronate in the first place. (2.2% is a LOT of athletes messing with this stuff!) So it’d be weird for WADA to then turn around and test metabolites instead of the parent drug that they’ve had people researching for the past year while it was on their watch list. Possible I guess, but if they were testing metabolites, I should be able to find a bunch of papers about those, but I only see articles about mildronate itself.
Interesting conversation btw, even if I’m quibbling and disagreeing with you.
I’m also going to point out, 55 people being caught doesn’t make it okay. In fact, it speaks more to the previous laxity in testing standards in tennis. 55 people thought they could get away with using a banned substance.
It’s also probably not coincidental that this happened in an Olympic year, when the testing is always going to be more stringent.
But why would they even think they could get away with it? The drug was banned, they knew they would be tested for it, but they decided to pop a pill right before the game anyway? This just doesn’t make sense, especially when so much money is at stake. This is why I think the timing of their last dose (in 2015 or 2016?) is crucial as well as pinning down any communication problems about that particular newly banned medication.
Because drug testing isn’t perfect. A lot of athletes pee hot and their results are covered up for years, or they may hope that they luck out and won’t be tested. You yourself said that a lot of money is at stake – wouldn’t that make it more likely that they’d try to use any means possible to gain an advantage, weighing it against the risk of detection? They also may not have known how sensitive the test would be, or thought that they could dodge the testing for long enough to fudge the results. Sharapova would have had sufficient time to let the drug leave her system had she stopped using it when the ban came in effect (the idea that she and her team ignore updates to the banned medication list is laughable) as it was in fact legal.
And after 10 years on a drug, it’s possible that there were withdrawl symptoms that players didn’t want to deal with and thought it would be worth the risk.
As I said above, Sharapova was taking a substance that enhanced performance but was previously legal. The likelihood that she was taking it for actual health reasons is slim. Whether or not it was ethical is beside the point. But once that ban took effect it didn’t matter whether or not it was legally obtained or through what channels: she took a banned substance.
The problem isn’t really the drug use to me as her attempt to tippy toe around the reality of why she was taking it. It’s pretty obvious at this point that she had performance enhancement in mind when she took it – which is fine because it was perfectly legal. The problem was when she decided to keep taking it, then tried to justify it in hindsight with a paper thin argument when she got caught. I honestly think she would have been better off just owning up to it and turning the discussion into why athletes feel driven to those lengths.
I am curious to know has she ever discussed these “health issues” before this week? Has she ever mentioned heart condition,pre diabetes in the past?
Masha has a lot of health issues. It’s not widely discussed but she was born in Chernobyl, exactly when there was a catastrophe with a nuclear reactor, and her parents had to flee home to Siberia. She does not keep it a secret either. I’e heard some well-informed casual discussions of her health problems during pretty much every Big Slam event..,
big deal, a lot of US medicines are not available in other countries,
I love Andy. He tells it like it is plus he’s a feminist.
On a side note, lots of people were eager to pile on Ashley Graham about being overweight and unhealthy. These athletes prove that only a person’s doctor and close friends or family really know if a person is healthy or unhealthy irregardless of his or her weight or athleticism. Apart from being morbidly obese or extremely underweight, everyone else in between could be healthy or unhealthy depending on their genetics and whether they smoke or abuse alcohol, drugs, and other substances. Until this week most people would have said Maria is healthier than Ashley Graham, but Ashley is older and from what I know she doesn’t abuse drugs, have heart problems, or diabetes.
Yeah, funny all those people swearing up and down about how it’s strictly about how unhealthy Ashley is and how they’re just concerned and yet few of them have made an appearance on this post.
Weird.
*whistles*
Yeah, but overeating is what normally makes a person overweight. Overeating is bad for you, just like smoking, over drinking, etc. Of course a person’s genetics also play a role. The fact is that being overweight puts you at a greater risk for all sorts of diseases, and you don’t need to be morbidly obese. People here seem to be in denial about that. I just read about a study linking carbohydrates to lung cancer. A high carb diet will certainly cause weight gain. Thin people can absolutely get sick too, but it’s less likely if they are making healthy choices.
The tennis world must be happy people are talking about this rather than the cheating/throwing matches scandal. I guess someone doping is much more important than the widespread betting corruption in the sport.
The more I learn about this drug, the more I can’t believe she had the brass balls to pretend it treated all these non related symptoms. If she had a heart condition/diabetes/magnesium deficiency or whatever else she’s claiming it treated, and was able to reach the heights of her career with said condition, wouldn’t that be part of her PR story in similar manner to Lance Armstrong??!!
I love Andy Murray’s comments, he is bang on and good on him for calling her out. I have never been a fan of Sharapova but I always did admire her drive when it came to her tennis. This is someone who could of retired years ago as a very wealthy woman without putting herself through multiple surgeries, rehab etc. I thought she did that as her tennis came first but these photos have changed my mind. With her career hanging in the balance she stages photos frolicking on a beach in full Nike attire in an attempt to win back her sponsors. Really Maria? It actually only underlines how big a corporation she is, there is absolutely no way her and her large team did “click on a link” and not know this drug was banned.
cheaters gonna cheat.