Posted on 10/27/2009 7:35:01 PM PDT by Saije
Andre Agassi makes the sensational confession today that he lied to the tennis authorities to escape a ban for taking hard drugs.
The American, one of the finest players to grace the game, tested positive for the highly addictive drug, crystal methamphetamine, and then duped the Association of Tennis Professionals into believing he had taken it by accident.
The admissions come in a soul-searching autobiography that is being serialised exclusively today and tomorrow in The Times.
The 1992 Wimbledon champion, the winner of eight grand-slam titles, also says that he has always secretly hated playing tennis and lived in fear of his bad-tempered and violent father.
Agassi, now 39, relates how he took crystal meth — possession of which carries a maximum five-year jail sentence in the US — in 1997, when his form was falling and he was having doubts about his impending marriage to the actress, Brooke Shields.
Had the positive drugs test become public, the repercussions for Agassi could have been catastrophic. It remains to be seen whether repercussions will follow his confession.
In his book, Agassi recounts sitting at home with his assistant, referred to only as Slim, and being introduced to the drug. “Slim is stressed too ... He says, You want to get high with me? On what? Gack. What the hell’s gack? Crystal meth. Why do they call it gack? Because that’s the sound you make when you’re high ... Make you feel like Superman, dude.
“As if they’re coming out of someone else’s mouth, I hear these words: You know what? F*** it. Yeah. Let’s get high.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
If you can do meth, and still manage to play professional tennis at that level, it’s more of a testament to his talent than anything.
Most meth users end up licking the furniture in a cheap motel near the Mexican border.
I was a major fan of Agassi, the grown-up version. This revelation explains the tears at the final U.S. Open appearance. He’s damn lucky he got to retire on his own terms, without having to serve a term...in prison.
Maybe confession is good for the soul. But I oftentimes think it might be best if people would consider telling their sins to their priest, preacher, spiritual advisor, whomever.
i watched a special on agassi on the tennis channel and it portrayed his father as a real hard ass...he seems like a decent fellow...very genuine.
I remember talk about him at that time being about his suspect “conditioning.” Now I think some people on the inside must have known about him flunking the test. Close call. He was one of the few to win Slams on all surfaces. A great player.
I'm not a medical professional but my understanding is drugs affect people differently. The Japanese who invented it also distributed it amongst military forces in WWII to help them make that extra sacrifice for the emperor. In WWII, meth under the name pervitin was used heavily by German forces.
It also explains why he was so up and down, and then refocused later on in his career. In 1997, he collapsed and had to start all over again from scratch.
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