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]

gee, the ATP gives Agassi a pass on crystal meth while guys doing testosterone get the boot with no appeal.

"He [Andre] described how he concocted a story that he had accidentally drunk a soda spiked with crystal meth belonging to his drug-user assistant, known as Slim."

Yes, when I read that, I could only think that Andre was so good for the game of tennis (and he was), that the ATP let this slip by or that they actually believed him? -- is that even possible? So seeing what the ATP has to say about this will be interesting.

[Havisham]

I dislike more that he used the fear-of-marriage excuse than that he used the drug. Up to that moment, I thought Agassi was a gentleman. yuk

[Stand Watch Listen]

Isn’t this the guy that Barbara Striesand once gushed about as being some kind of ‘greek god’?

Yes...something about ...linear beyond his years"

It was such an insipid remarks, that I've remembered it all through these years.

[Stand Watch Listen]

I was curious and researched the Streisand quote...

breathless quote from Barbra Streisand, describing tennis star Andre Agassi:

"He's very, very intelligent; very, very, sensitive, very evolved; more than his linear years. ... He plays like a Zen master. It's very in the moment."

[LeonardFMason]

He must have been on drugs to bed BS.

[dfwgator]

"He's very, very intelligent; very, very, sensitive, very evolved; more than his linear years. ... He plays like a Zen master. It's very in the moment."

Translation: He has a big you-know-what.

[dfwgator]

He must have been on drugs to bed BS.

Even Keith Richards couldn't handle the amount of drugs it would take for me to even consider that.

[thefactor]

maybe he was on meth when he first looked at graf and thought she was hot. i know i would have to be.

[mono]

....meth is hardly recreational...

Right you are. Unless playing russian roulette with a pistol is recreational shooting.

[jyoders19]

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.

[reagan_fanatic]

Thanks for looking that up. I could have sworn she referred to him at one point as a ‘greek god’. My memory must be faulty.

[reagan_fanatic]

Translation: He has a big you-know-what.

Bingo. And terrible eyesight.

[dennisw]

Thanks much..... I didn’t know that was a general feeling with others. Brook Shields lives a pretty straight life which I respect, but she was simply unsuitable for Aggasis and vis versa

[dennisw]

Thanks...that jarred my memory. How flaky. BS was obviously in lust/love and was getting serviced by Andre Agassi

[MinuteGal]

Agassi's father was an Iranian of Armenian and Assyrian ethnicity. The father represented Iran in the '48 and '52 Olympics as a member of the Iranian boxing team.

Leni

[mlizzy]

maybe he was on meth when he first looked at graf and thought she was hot. i know i would have to be.

Not a Graf fan, eh? Maybe Andre initially admired her fitness. She certainly was and still is, fit. And I rather like the fact she never de-sized her nose. Certainly, it seems, she could have.

[dfwgator]

I thought Steffi was cute, if not “hot.”

[freedomlover]

recreational drug crystal meth

---

LOL

Funny I have never heard the phrase “did crystal meth like a gentleman”.

[mlizzy]

Isn’t this the guy that Barbara Striesand once gushed about as being some kind of ‘greek god’?

Geez, I went and found the picture, but then didn't answer the question. Happy to see other FReepers are on the ball ...

[mlizzy]

I thought Steffi was cute, if not “hot.”

She was dolled up for some photographs to prove she was beautiful by today's standards, but she was all business on the court, and it was hard to not respect her for that. When spoken to, she seemed humble, even shy. Very much different from a few of the girls in tennis today. Serena Williams still drives me bonkers for example.