It's very sad that star athletes resort to using drugs. I don't know if Mr Agassi did this for recreation or thought this would increase his abilities. Lucky for him he did not fall victim to addiction. Thousands of people take meth and it changes their lives forever. Some lose their families,jobs, self-respect, and most of all their health. He trully is one of the lucky ones. Hope he realizes that!
#1 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:36 PM EDTFrankly imo Agassi did a little oversharing. LOL There are some things best left unmentioned or best remain in the closet for later if necessary. LOL
Hope Agassi do not regret his oversharing re his life and marriage. It is one thing to talk about tennis in particular or his work with children but this was unnecessary imo.
It would have been more interesting to read about his school in Vegas and his motivation for setting up same, or what life is like away from the tour or even sharing the more humorous aspects of tennis and what it is like being on the tour, but this drug thing and not getting caught/suspended when other tennis athletes have been taken to the wood shed, even these days, is trying to or casting a cloud over professional tennis especially in this climate of wreaking of distruction on and/or accusing some tennis players of drug usage etc without any evidence of same, by many including including so called fans of the sport is rampant.
Perhaps the publishers thought that these sort of 'sharing' would help to sell his book. I would find a book talking about what some of his competitors (eg the guy who used to refer to himself in the 3rd person) were like on the court and off, their foibles, oddities, and you know the sillier side of tennis would have been more interesting imo. For example the hair incident was amusing imo. LOL
Enough of the spilling of the negative behaviours already. No one is perfect and most people have a skeleton or two in their closet.
Agassi should have left that and perhaps other bits between him and his therapist, if he has one, or left it in his closet and not to be repeated (drug usage or vocally/verbally) because now folks will be focusing on this particular issue rather than viewing his life as a whole imo.
He's done incredible work for children.....we've all made mistakes like this....and, he's open about it...he's alright in my book..
#2 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:53 PM EDTI remember when Andre Agassi slipped way down in the tennis rankings. It was when he was married to Brooke Shields. If I recall correctly he blamed her for his rankings slide. If he was using drugs during this time I hope he apologizes to Ms. Shields and takes responsibility for his actions.
#3 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:03 PM EDTAndre will always be the greatest in my book. He has grown up to become a wonderful man doing great things for children, and a wonderful husband and father.
#4 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:21 PM EDTHe pissed away his early years by being out of shape ,and throwing matches and not giving his all in 5 setters that he lost the first set in. If you check his 5 set match record he rarely ever won a five set match if he fell behind.
He was a punk that never got past the 8 th grade,granted he has now grown up and has done some things to turn his life around but he was lazy........and could have been a much better player than his record shows........
I dont think it really matters now, hes already retired. Same thing happened to Michael Chang, a few yrs back, after his retirement to tennis, confessed that he tooked this and that. Plus, he has a AA foundation for kids, so, he 'paid his dues' so to speak. Tennis is not a walk in the park sports. Its a grueling sports. You're travelling 50+ times in a year, youre in one city/country this week, youre in another city/country next week and so on, and you have to compete on top of that, and not to mentioned jet lagged. Get over it !
#5 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:00 PM EDTThere is probably some entertainment value in all of this, but it's otherwise relatively irrelevant. It has not affected my opinion of him.
#6 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:06 PM EDTHe'll always be my favorite tennis player. It takes courage to tell the truth and its history. He's proven himself to be an outstanding person who has helped many children.
#7 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:09 PM EDTOne of the all time greats - Andre is the reason I started watching tennis - he was so hot - loved his hair - sounds silly, but I'm still an avid tennis fan and he's the reason. We all make mistakes - he's turned out fine in my book.
#8 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:44 PM EDTi'm neither praising nor condemming agassi - as his confession will have absolutely no impact on my life and future.
but i find it interesting that those who own up to their shortcomings or simply bad-ass actions (giambi, pettitte, rodriguez, gov. a. swartzenager(sp?) of calif.) are not shunned, tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail. they moved on and we can only hope they remain clean.
would that same sense of "forgiveness" have been afforded to roger clemmens or mark mcguire, or tejada, or palmero, or m. rameriz, or david ortiz or barry bonds?
unfortunately, it's too late to find out for those named, and others that have been suspected and tainted by non-admittance of wrong doing or names being leaked.
#9 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:53 PM EDTnothing wrong with a little refreshing honesty. Celebrities need to stop being worshipped as perfect by the rest of us. They're people too and we all have warts.
#10 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:44 PM EDTI don't care about the personal lives of Andre Agassi or any other sports figures. I am interested in their athletic skills and I watch only to see them perform. I don't expect them to be a role model for me or my kids. It's absurd that Americans are "disappointed" when sports figures (or politicians, entertainers and priests/ministers for that matter) are something other than flawed, weak, human beings like the rest of us. By the way, Andre should be glad he's not black. The "fans" would be far less forgiving (e.g. Bonds is a criminal but McGuire and Clemmens are heros).
#11 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:44 PM EDTnothing wrong with a little refreshing honesty. Celebrities need to stop being worshipped as perfect by the rest of us. They're people too and we all have warts.
#12 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:45 PM EDThe was a punk and lazy in the early days and never gave it his all . If he fell behind in a five set match he tanked. Check his 5 set record .He could have been a better player than his record showed. 8th grade drop out who has managed to turn his life around in the end,he could have been a much better player but he pissed away his early years on the tour. He is not Jimmy Connors......... not even close
#13 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:26 PM EDTSooooo....EXACTLY what does this have to do with the kind of man/father/husband he is and all he has done for children, their education and his sport?
Not even worth mentioning......he probably put it in the book to sensationalize it at the behest of the Marketing people. A blip and nothing more.
#15 - Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:00 PM EDTWell, as for as I am concerned, he CHEATED at tennis due to drugs. What else is new. Gosh, we are one messed up group of people that we have to turn to drugs. Life is not an easy road,but,get a gripe.
#16 - Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:09 AM EDTLet's face it, we all have trials and tribulations. Some deal with them with drugs, others anger, others religion, still others with sex. Some become workaholics, some use yoga, some see therapists. Anything overdone becomes a trap; and most seem to be able to escape their traps. Wouldn't this be a far better world if we focused on people's accomplishments rather than their errors? So what? He took some drugs. Has Andre made a positive contribution in his life? Then whatever problems he may have had getting there speaks to his determination, courage and persistence. Get over it!
#17 - Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:10 AM EDTWe should all take a lesson from Andre. It isn't the mistakes you make that matter, it's what you learn from those mistakes that truly shows a person's character. Andre has had a lifetime of ups and downs that cannot compare in anyway to what the average person goes through. Some may say that this admission will tarnish his career; however, I believe it will only solidify Andre as one of the greatest athletes in history...how many athletes can admit to hitting bottom and then turn around and scratch and claw all the way back to the top of the mountain? While I in no way condone Andre's use of drugs, I believe it is only a minor footnote in what has been an amazing career and life...I look to the good he has done not only for tennis but for at-risk youth in Las Vegas. Andre...my hat is off to you! Keep up the good work!!!
#18 - Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:24 AM EDTWhy is it that Martina Hingis got a TWO year suspension for the same offense? Hello, does anyone notice the incongruity here?? It's all Brook's fault I suck? Grow a pair, man up and and take some ownership of your own actions. Admitting this in a book you hope will make lots of money?? Really pitiful that the truth only matters if you can create some shock to sell books. Can anyone say role model?? I think so much less of him now. Please just go away.
#19 - Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:39 AM EDTROFL... of course he did... he's from Vegas. That should have been a given. And folks now want to call him a cheater? Yea, cuz we all know how many advantages Meth gives you in life. He'll be paying for it til the end.
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We all make mistakes....he's done amazing work since....I don't hold it against him..