"Andre Agassi lied and got away with it, you can't correct that now" - When Martina Navratilova was 'shocked' by American's crystal meth revelation
Martina Navratilova once shared her thoughts on Andre Agassi's revelation that he deceived the ATP after a positive drug test. Although Agassi had been experimenting with crystal meth, he swindled his way into escaping punishment, much to Navratilova's disappointment.
Agassi had failed a drug test during his challenging 1997 season. In an effort to escape a ban, he concocted a story about "unwittingly" drinking a soda that his assistant Slim had spiked with crystal meth. The ATP bought the American's explanation and dropped the case, only requiring him to write a letter attesting to the same.
However, Andre Agassi sent shockwaves throughout the tennis world and beyond with the release of his autobiography 'Open,' published in 2009. In his memoir, the eight-time Grand Slam champion confessed that his letter was "filled with lies" and that he was "ashamed" of his actions.
"My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved, whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing. Days later I sit in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and write a letter to the ATP. It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth," Andre Agassi wrote.
"I say Slim, whom I've since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often spikes his sodas with meth – which is true. Then I come to the central lie of the letter. I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim's spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: sincerely. I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it," he added.
In a phone interview from Sarasota, Florida, that same year, Martina Navratilova shared her thoughts on the "shocking" revelation. She disclosed that her surprise wasn't about Agassi using crystal meth but about him not owning up for his actions.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion likened the American to former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens, who had a fall from grace after allegations surfaced that he had used anabolic steroids in his late career.
"Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn't own up to it. He's up there with Roger Clemens, as far as I'm concerned. He owned up to it [in the book], but it doesn't help now," Navratilova said.
Navratilova also emphasized that Andre Agassi had lied to the ATP and evaded punishment, suggesting that by competing when he should've been suspended, he had deprived other players of wins.
"Andre lied and got away with it. You can't correct that now. Do you take away a title he wouldn't have won if he had been suspended? He beat some people when he should have been suspended," she added.
"I was at a low point; I was in a marriage I didn't want to be in" - Andre Agassi on his drug use
In a 2009 appearance on the Today Show during his book tour, Andre Agassi opened up about being overwhelmed by the "power of drugs" at the lowest point in his life.
The former World No. 1, who was married to actress Brooke Shields at the time, revealed that he began using crystal meth while struggling with depression and feeling trapped in a marriage he no longer wanted.
"I don't know if anybody really understands the power of drugs when they choose to do it. It was at a time when I was depressed, I was at a low point. I was in a life I didn't choose, I was in a marriage I didn't want to be in. Somebody came along and offered me an escape and I took it," Andre Agassi said.
Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields divorced in 1999 after two years of marriage. In 2001, the eight-time Grand Slam champion tied the knot with fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf, with whom he has two children.