Agassi admits using crystal meth and lying to ATP

Comcast ^ | Martyn Herman and John O'Brien

[mlizzy]

LONDON — Eight-times grand slam winner Andre Agassi has admitted using the recreational drug crystal meth and lying to men's governing body the ATP to escape a ban.

In his book, serialised in The Times, the American candidly describes being introduced to the drug in 1997 by his assistant when his game was in freefall and he was having doubts about his impending marriage to actress Brooke Shields.

"Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I've just crossed," Agassi, now 39, was quoted as saying.

"There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful -- and I've never felt such energy."

Agassi, who won Wimbledon in 1992 as a long-haired rebel before claiming the U.S. Open in 1994 and the Australian Open in 1995, fell outside the top 100 in the world at the end of 1997 when he was hampered by a wrist injury.

[mlizzy]

Hope he photographed it with a Canon!

Funny! I remember those ads...

[thefactor]

if fitnes was the benchmark, then i might have chosen to stay with brooke shields. she's no slouch.

but to each their own. andre and steff's kids are certainly going to be ridiculous athletes.

[ErnBatavia]

But at least we can be comforted in knowing that Roller Derby is real...

[mlizzy]

This guy had no reason to be getting into this stuff; it’s adolescent and irresponsible ...

Agassi has always been an overly emotional type. Starts crying on camera, etc. In that regard, he reminds me of Beck. And, of course, Beck was into some pretty negative stuff himself at one point. So there's a chance that Agassi just wants to move forward and he literally can't or it's too uncomfortable to continue to do so with this huge cloud over him. He and his wife do a lot through their foundation for kids.

[secretagent]

Meth is hardly recreational.

It was for Agassi. It made him feel good, and later he dropped it.

It didn't override his free will.

[Puppage]

It didn't override his free will

Says WHO?

If meth is recreation, then so is heroin.

It made him feel good, and later he dropped it

So, THAT'S what makes it recreational, hmm? I know plenty of ex-heroin addicts that say the very same thing, so I guess that was recreational, too?

[secretagent]

Agassi decided to stop taking meth, thus demonstrating his free will to do so.

Heroin does provide recreation for most users - it feels good, at least at first. Most don’t take it as medication.

Heroin users also prove their free will to use or not use heroin, by quitting heroin use.

Probably most illegal drug use falls into the “feels good” category.

[incredulous joe]

Sounds as though you have got a lot of excuses for Andre.

I hope that he’s got his act together.

I don’t care how foundations he’s got going, crystal meth is not a “recreational drug”. It is poison and it ain’t cool!

[Puppage]

Heroin does provide recreation for most users - it feels good, at least at first.

As a person in recovery for 13yrs, I can tell you that really don't know what you're talking about.

[secretagent]

Do you mean that heroin doesn’t feel good, at least at first?

When you say that I don’t know what I’m talking about, is that it?

[Puppage]

Do you mean that heroin doesn’t feel good, at least at first?

Are you for real?

I was commenting on your absurd suggestion in post #47 that heroin is recreational....even, as you stated, at first.

[maggief]

This should be a PSA on the dangers of meth.

[mlizzy]

This should be a PSA on the dangers of meth

Ha! I think his meth days were post-Babs, though, but I haven't read the book ... :)

[mlizzy]

Sounds as though you have got a lot of excuses for Andre. I hope that he’s got his act together. I don’t care how foundations he’s got going, crystal meth is not a “recreational drug”. It is poison and it ain’t cool!

I DO like what Steffi and Andre are doing in many ways via their foundation, but I'm also a bit cheezed off that Chris Everet (another former favorite of mine) is now separated from Greg Norman (her third marital squeeze) and want someone to show some true "love" in the tennis arena. So I'm pulling for Agassi, in regard to coming out with this news, along with his wife, Steffi. I would imagine this situation put at least some stress on the structure. And I can't "fault" him for drug use. It was foolish but so is smoking cigarettes, eating too many fries frequently, and changing lanes without a blinker. All can potentially kill you.

[mlizzy]

I don’t care what Agassi decides to put into his own body. It sounds like, from every account I’ve seen, that he did it once, got caught and never used again. The real revelation, to me, was that the ATP gave him a pass on a failed drug test based on the “it was somebody else’s” excuse. That’s a shocking level of hush-up that goes to the highest levels of the ATP. Could you imagine ANY athlete getting a similar pass in today’s drug-plagued sports world?

Agassi is still a champion and it makes you see how much damage he really did to himself and why it was so easy for him to come back and win the French in ‘99 once he was healthy. You do wonder how much greater Agassi would’ve been - we’re talking Federer-level greatness - if he’d simply worked harder when he was younger and kept away from distractions such as the meth, Brooke Shields and all his “image is everything” ads.

My husband would comment from time to time that Andre had slipped back out of shape and it was such a shame because, you are right, he is a champion. And, yes, too many distractions!

[incredulous joe]

“And I can’t “fault” him for drug use. It was foolish but so is smoking cigarettes, eating too many fries frequently, and changing lanes without a blinker. All can potentially kill you.”

This thread has officially gotten too weird for me.

[mlizzy]

“And I can’t “fault” him for drug use. It was foolish but so is smoking cigarettes, eating too many fries frequently, and changing lanes without a blinker. All can potentially kill you.”

This thread has officially gotten too weird for me.

I was being a bit facetious. Just a way of saying I don't condemn the man.

[secretagent]

I was commenting on your absurd suggestion in post #47 that heroin is recreational....even, as you stated, at first.

What do you find absurd about describing initial heroin use as recreational? I didn't invent the combination of "recreational" with "heroin":

Heroin is used as a recreational drug for the profound relaxation and intense euphoria it produces, although the latter effect diminishes with increased tolerance.

http://www.addictionca.com/news-left.htm?aid=2769

[mlizzy]

'I hate tennis': Agassi's book adds to his tale