Richard Gasquet Facing Two-Year Drug Suspension
Richard Gasquet, too bad you’re not a baseball player. In baseball, if you fail drug test like Manny Ramirez just did, you get a roughly a two-month suspension before returning into the arms of your fans. In tennis if you get caught doping you face up to two years off the circuit the the public shame that goes with it. And unfortunately that’s exactly what’s Gasquet’s facing after reports have surfaced that the Frenchman tested positive for traces of cocaine during the Miami event which he never even played (at least we know what he was doing in Miami now). ADHEREL
To be clear, this is just a story from L’Equipe and it’s not official, just as Lance Amstrong who’s been in the crosshairs of that paper for years. But unfortunately for Gasquet it sure looks like there a lot more fact in this report than fiction.
Coincedentlay or not, Gasquet has pulled out of Madrid this week and I’m guessing he’ll avoid the public spotlight of the French Open unless he’s able to prove his innocence.
With so much talk of drug doping it’s astonishing just how many guys – not just in tennis – still take the risk and get caught. For Gasquet, he has to know that in Miami they will be testing, so why do it?
And that’s a shame because the 22-year-old really is an incredible talent. We’ve heard it over and over ad nauseum for it’s true. When he’s on his “A” game there are very few players who are better than him. Unfortunately, that A game only shows up a few weeks a year and now if the second vial comes back positive, we are not going to see any game from Gasquet for a few years and who knows, maybe never again. Too bad.
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