Doping Again !

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

RE: Doping Again !

RBBOT · Futures qualifying

Well The Times would have mentioned their being British if they knew, but they only have a recorded conversation, so may not know.

-- Edited by RBBOT on Sunday 3rd of April 2016 12:29:32 PM

theemptyvessel · Club Coach

How not at all surprising

www.bbc.com/sport/36034369

steven · Tennis legend

Shocking what a mess WADA have made of this - though I imagine there'd have been far more of an outcry in the first place about so many people were suddenly getting caught if they hadn't mainly been from Russia/Eastern Europe and hence automatically assumed to be guilty by many people. Of course, Russia had dug its own pit in that regard but that doesn't automatically mean a lower standard of proof should be required against individual Russian athletes than against those from any other countries.

I don't think WADA is ever going to be able to get a grip on drugs (i.e. catch the biggest cheats instead of just catching the careless or creating lots of very grey areas by rushing in without proper research, as in this case) without funding that is more commensurate with the amounts of money swishing around in the sports they are trying to regulate. It's a bit ironic that their incompetence makes the case for them needing more resources, but there you go - they must have a thankless task at the moment.

indiana · Tennis legend

Didn't Sharapova say they missed the email or whatever so I had assumed in her case she was saying that she has CONTINUED to take meldonium after the date it became banned and was caught because of that.

Not sure if she actually clearly said though that she had continued to take it - anyone ?? If so the 'still in system' from last year defense doesn't apply to her.

-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 13th of April 2016 09:38:32 PM

Oakland2002 · All-time great

WADA face an uphill battle, given the vested interests of numerous powerful organisations and individuals in controlling the consequences of positive tests for the performance enhancing drug meldonium. To be fare to WADA it has taken some time for a convincing mitigating argument to be presented and I wouldn't be at all surprised if a number of talented experts have been working on putting it together with a view to establishing reasonable doubt.

Understanding how a drug is metabolised and the way in which that metabolism can be altered by the genetics of any said indivual is less than straight forward.

Each week patients walk into A and E's across the country because the drug they are taking for medical reasons is either too effective or not effective enough because something has impacted the way their body is metabolising it. Warfarin being a good example too effective you bleed not effective enough you clot (prevention of which is why you take it in the first place)

I feel one has to be measured the agenda is keeping the playing field as clean and level as possible whilst also protecting athletes hurting themselves and of course the sport. We are learning more about meldonium, only a fool would use it in the future and of course we have learnt a lot about Maria and the moral position of the companies that supported her. Facts on which we can all take a position. No Head kit in my bag this summer.

-- Edited by Oakland2002 on Wednesday 13th of April 2016 10:02:00 PM

-- Edited by Oakland2002 on Wednesday 13th of April 2016 10:02:38 PM

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

indiana wrote:
Didn't Sharapova say they missed the email or whatever so I had assumed in her case she was saying that she has CONTINUED to take meldonium after the date it became banned and was caught because of that.

Not sure if she actually clearly said though that she had continued to take it - anyone ?? If so the 'still in system' from last year defense doesn't apply to her.

-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 13th of April 2016 09:38:32 PM

This is my understanding too.......she must be kicking herself for trying 'to take ownership' of the issue, calling the press conference and trying to garner public sympathy by blaming on an oversight by a busy woman........

indiana · Tennis legend

Maria really has made a botch of this whole thing in various ways. Being reported that the 2012 flag carrier will almost certainly at least miss the Olympics due to her 'admission'.

-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 14th of April 2016 12:23:10 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Aww, that's nice of the WTA to tweet with an accompanying picture of a happy smiling Maria on a tennis court with a made-up background of balloons

WTA @WTA · 13h

Happy Birthday @MariaSharapova!

Or maybe it is still appropriate if this is the sort of tweet the WTA traditionally do for top players including Maria at birthday time ??

-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 19th of April 2016 10:58:27 PM

wimdledont · Challenger level

It's now a week since Sharapova graced the ITF with an interview and informed them of her decision in their case. I'm beginning to wonder how long it will take her PR to source an appropriate venue for her to announce this decision to the wider world.

EddietheEagle · County player

No decision as yet. They're deliberating how to wangle a way of letting her off without the world crying 'foul'.

AliBlahBlah · All-time great

The WTA's attitude is getting increasingly perturbing.
Rather than implementing a respectful moratorium on their usual Sharapova puff PR operation, they are instead finding any excuse to include Ms. Sharapova in 'News' stories, multiple times a week.
The latest example is an ESPN list of famous sports people (8 of 100 are women - a depressingly low number, but that's another kettle of fish altogether, for another time! - half of those 8 are WTA players).
Sharapova is, admittedly, the highest ranked female in the list, but the list also includes, both of the Williamses, and Mirza.
So, they lead with a glossy PR photo of a smiling Sharapova, and a gushing report of her millions of social media fans, many lucrative contracts, personal fortune and 'popular' confectionery range.
Mention of her current 'sabbatical' is conspicuously absent.

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Very surprised that the WTA are just going to ride this out with Maria hiding in plain sight.

Bizarre when their remit has to be showing leadership in generating an environment in which the natural thing for all little girls to do is play tennis in the way in which the AYSO makes it natural for girls to play soccer in the USA. To do this the sport and the associations that run the professional game have to do all they can to stay clean.

This just needs to get sorted.

wimdledont · Challenger level

The WTA is a marketing franchise with little responsibility in these cases.

What I hadn't realised is that this Sharapova case is only odd in that anything has been said in public by anybody...

www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/may/29/tennis-drugs-itf-president-david-haggerty-match-fixing

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Fascinating. So I interpret that as any player who is not playing for any reason could be serving a suspension following a positive test awaiting the results of a formal investigation.