Agassi can do no wrong...really?

Its been a few weeks since my last post, there were many great stories that I read about and wanted to comment on, but the Andre Agassi story has me going. So before I go on, full disclosure…I love tennis and have traveled as far as Paris to watch it. Also, even though I like and respected Agassi’s on court performances, what he has done with his foundation in Las Vegas has far outstripped his tennis accomplishments. Agassi has never been my favorite player of his generation, Boris Becker, Gustavo Kuerten, Jim Courier and Stefi Graf (his wife) were. While I’m at it…yes Stefi should have married me and not Andre, but that is beside the point.


Andre Agassi in his recently released autobiography “Open” talks about his use of crystal meth in 1997 and testing positive for the substance in a random ATP drug test that year. For the uninitiated, 1997 for Agassi was what Queen Elizabeth II would call “Annus horribilis.” Agassi’s off the court demons got the better of him, his game fell apart and his ranking plummeted to 141 in the world. We all wondered what was going on in his world and now we know. Agassi has also admitted to lying to the ATP, the governing body of the men’s tour, about how the drug got into his system. I think Agassi should make some sort of gesture, like a formal apology to the ATP, return prize winnings and appearance fees he received during the period in question. Or better yet, donate that money to an anti-drug program for youths and give a series of lectures at his academy about the detriments of drug use.


A number of tennis stars, current and past have come out against Agassi in the past couple weeks, Martina Navratilova, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Marrat Safin and Sergi Bruguera to name a few. Martina is quoted as saying “He’s up there with Roger Clemens, as far as I’m concerned.” I wonder, was Martina’s amazing physical change in the middle of her career all-natural? I don’t know, but she should be careful how she is casting stones. Bruguera even suggested that Agassi should give back his 1996 Olympic Gold medal. What could possibly be Bruguera’s motive? Just the gold medal itself, he was the runner up to Agassi at the Atlanta Games.


Let’s face it, crystal meth is not known for improving your quickness, muscle growth and hand-eye coordination, just the opposite. So Agassi was not trying to cheat, he was engaging in self-destructive behavior and there is a difference. The ATP could have and should have pursued the matter in 1997, but it chose not to. Even if Agassi lied to them, they could have looked further into the matter, maybe they did not want to taint one of the games biggest stars.


Its now 12 years after the fact, the ATP, ITF or any other body should not get a chance for a do-over here. Agassi you should step up and do something on your own that goes beyond the admission in your book, then go on and continue all the good work that you do on behalf of humanity.

Obama Nobel Peace Prize win...WHAT?!!

Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for what the committee called “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” This award given to Obama so early in his administration shocked me and I’m sure many people around the world were equally surprised as I was at the selection. Even Obama was surprised by the choice and said “To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize...” see the CNN.com article for more.

When compared to Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, the Obama resume seems short on sacrifice and accomplishment. But there aren’t many people alive or dead that can stand up to the amazing contributions of people like King. I’ll tell you, Obama showed a great deal of class in accepting it as “a call to action.” There is a lot to be done in the U.S. and around the world to improve the lives people and maybe Obama will have a major impact. He has however, done a lot to change the tone and perception of how America projects its power around the world, in the short time (9 months) that he has been in office. So lets see if the president’s critics can display some amount of class, congratulate him and move on to important matters of state.

A New Look!!

Thank you for visiting my NEW! Website. I am very excited to have it done. I need to thank my friend at Matthew D. Beda dEsigns for all of his hard work.

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- Garvin