Sports Then and Now

Andre Agassi uses his new book, Open, as a chance to purge his past and look toward the future.

Much has been written about the admission by Andre Agassi in his new autobiography, Open, that he regularly used crystal meth over a period of months in 1997.

While some may see that revelation as significant and choose to use it as an opportunity to pass judgment on Agassi, the incident is actually little more than a relevant footnote in a 386-page memoir that serves as a self-introduction by a person we all thought we already knew.

While there have been greater tennis players, no other tennis star has so permeated the fabric of American culture as has this flamboyant character from Las Vegas. For more than 20 years, Agassi has transcended tennis and in the process become one of those rare American sports icons that is known not only by fans of his particular sport, but also by people who would be shocked to learn that all tennis matches aren’t played on hard courts.

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After being the number one player in the world in 1995, Andre Agassi had fallen to number 141 in 1997.

It goes without saying that drugs are bad – even recreational drugs. That is why it is impossible to get them, right?  If drugs are a cancer to our society, then, of course, as a society we are doing everything in our power to counter them, protecting our children, our community, our cities and our states.

It is much the same for harmful weapons like guns.  We do not allow children or citizens who may harms others access to something that presents such an immediate and present danger.  Right?

As a people, as a community, we are doing everything in our power to create a safe environment for all people living within our boundaries. We treat everyone who breaks the law the same within our equal and passionate justice system.

If you believe the preceding statements are true then you live in la-la land with the rest of the self-appointed name-callers and blame gamers who hug today’s headlines.  It is these holier-than-thou critics who instantly rise to criticize someone else’s behavior who irritate the lining in one’s stomach.

Recently Andre Agassi had the courage to stand up and confess his addition to methamphetamine during his professional tennis career.  In fact he states that in 1997 he was caught using crystal meth by the ATP during a routine drug test.

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