Marat Safin: Andre Agassi's Book "Absolutely Stupid"

PARIS — Former No. 1-ranked Marat Safin believes that Andre Agassi should give his tennis titles back after confessing he tested positive for a banned substance during his career and lied about it to the ATP.

Agassi admitted in his autobiography "Open" that he used crystal meth in 1997 and failed a drug test, a result he says was thrown out after he lied by saying he "unwittingly" took the substance.

Safin, who plans to retire this month, said in an interview with L'Equipe newspaper on Tuesday that Agassi should "give his titles, his money and his Grand Slam titles" back.

"I'm not defending the ATP, but what he said put it in a delicate position," Safin said. "The ATP allowed him to win a lot of tournaments, a lot of money. It kept his secret. Why does he need to be so cruel with it?"

Agassi, who retired in 2006, won 60 titles, including eight Grand Slams, during his career. He recently told The Associated Press that he had to speak about his lies because he couldn't live with it anymore.

"If he is as fair play as he says he is, he has to go to the end," Safin said. "You know, the ATP has a bank account and he can give the money back if he wants."

Safin, who will retire after this week's Paris Masters, won the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open. The 29-year-old Russian said he isn't going to write his autobiography when his career will be over.

"Me, I don't need money," he said. "The question is: Why did he do this? What is done is done. Does he hope to sell more books? It's absolutely stupid."

Comments

[Harrier]

Not a performance enhancer like Naratalova for steroids or blood doping like Lassie Viren. Those are the people that lived lies and deliberately lied to get their medals-true cheaters who knew what they were doing, chose and intended to cheat and continued to do it because they knew they could not win without it or make money

[Dnietz]

exactly right

navratolova criticized him the most and it is obviously because of her history of using performance enhancing drugs.

now safin? is he hiding something?

playing with meth made it more difficult not easier. these bitter tennis rivals must think people can't add 2 plus 2. or their own greed has blinded them to logic.

[chicagoike]

All book need a hook or else they fall flat, it's all about making money and nothing about honesty........... the drug use is the hook in this book.

[nogimmicks]

Telling the truth is cool, .. but it is better to release it after you are dead. Or, even better, stay uncool and keep your mouth shut. As far as Safin is concerned: 1) I am sure he has not read it but heard or read the newspaper titles that he used drugs, 2) Safin missed the fact that it was meth, not steroids, and meth is performance decreasing drug, 3) the idea of telling the self-incriminating truth in Russia seems foreign.

[Dnietz]

agree iwth you overall, but he didn't miss the fact that it was meth an not steroids

he is ignoring that on purpose. he is hoping that with him and a few other stars yelling loudly enough, they can drown out agassi and spoil his legacy.

they are just bitter because they weren't as successful as he was or as famous. and possibly like navratolova they are covering for their own use of steroids.

[RusStyles]

Safin is a joke...But I'm surprised these other stars, who I've always respected, are taking shots at Agassi for being forthright, and using his story as a teaching tool for our youth or even adults who may having problems coping. He laid it all out there--hairpiece and all...I'm getting my copy right now...

[VTL]

He's being "forthright" years after the fact.

Duh.

[FCBarca]

Riiiight...He wrote the book to make MORE money

[liberalbug]

Exactly! Career's pretty much over. No one pays attention to you anymore. What do you do? Write a "tell all" book and get another day or two in the spotlight. Who cares?

[Dnietz]

let see

he officially retired 2 years ago after a major injury and he is around 40 years old. i think it is more than pretty much over

that part of his life is done. since then he met his future wife and has kids. he is still famous and loved by fans.

he has a charity to which he donates more money to every year than this book will make him in total. how does that work out?

did you hear that? he gives away more money to charity every year than this book will make him.

[Daze515]

Someone should tell these chuckleheads that crystal meth is NOT a performance enhancing drug. If anything it gave Agassi's competitors an advantage! Secondly, Agassi admitted to using meth for a "few months"... and did poorly in the one or two tournaments he played in then. So what the heck would he be returning exactly? His trophy and winnings for 32nd place? He was a great player... and a flawed man. Let's leave it at that. Guys like Safin should worry less about Agassi and more about why their sport's ratings have tanked over the last decade plus.

[diio]

What Safin seems to be saying is not, as some are suggesting, that Agassi should necessarily return the prize money but that doing so would alleviate the guilt he is claiming to feel. The quote most representative of Safin's attitude on the matter, not present in this article, is "there are times you need to be able to shut up."

[pfc1369]

A really intelligent super athlete is as rare as hen's teeth.

Neither Agassi nor Safin fit the bill.

Off hand, I think of Bill Russell, Bill Bradley, Kareem, Al Kaline, McEnroe, and I'm sure quite a few more, anyhow.

[Dnietz]

mcenroe?

seriously?

you can't be serious? you have got to be kidding. YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS !

[k6007]

Kudos for telling the truth, andre.

[InsideBrooklyn]

Safin was always a little on the temperamental side. Surprised though at Nadal, Federer and Navritalova. I thought they were all mensches . . . It's not like Agassi was taking anything to enhance performance. What his father did to him as a kid is tantamount to child abuse. A little sympathy. Besides look what Agassi is spending his money on. . . And I think he's got plenty of money and doesn't need to sell books. . .

[krunk4life]

http://soyoked.com/2009/11/andre-agassi-on-60-minutes/

[ddruker]

And let's extend the points I raised in my previous comment: Are Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Martina Navratilova so tone deaf that they miss the point of Agassi's book? One of the things that Andre Agassi laments in his book and in his interviews since the book was released is his regret at dropping out of school in the ninth grade and not pursuing a formal education. Through his foundation and his charter school, he's more than making up for that. Yet, from their shrill and censorious comments about Agassi's book, Nadal, Federer, and Navratilova appear to have foregone precisely the same educational opportunities that Andre Agassi passed up. I suggest that they might do better by paying attention to what the book is actually about. Indeed, maybe they will actually read the book before spouting off about it.

[CeeMac]

I could not agree more with your comments, dd.

After listening to several interviews Andre has given in support of his book, I honestly believe it was cathartic for him to write to book, which is a good thing, IMHO. More importantly, it seems Andre wants to help out others who find themselves in lives not of their choosing, and that if one person finds any solace or can help themselves from something they took out of his book, Andre said that it will have been worth all the grief he's gotten over the book, especially from his former colleagues.

I have always been an Andre Agassi tennis fan; now, I'm an even bigger fan of Andre Agassi, the man.

[Dnietz]

they are tone deaf and/or have a personal stake in the situation like navratilova. she used steroids to enhance her performance during her career and has been shunned by people since it was revealed. she is bitter and angry