French Tennis Player Richard Gasquet Suspended For Cocaine Use

My perhaps "unpopular" view on the Gasquet suspension...
_____
Richard Gasquet has officially been suspended by the ITF after testing positive for Cocaine in his system.

He will miss the French Open and a hearing will take place in about 60 days to further examine the situation.

Richard tested positive back in March however, later tested negative only a few days ago (May 7th). Gasquet is of course pleading innocent here.

Is it any coincidence that I blogged about Martina Hingis only a short while ago?

Probably, however I'm extremely surprised and concerned that substance abuse may run more rampant than any of us know. I have virtually no sympathy for any form of substance abuse within the professional tennis community, performance enhancing or not.

These athletes should be treating their body like a temple, and of course have a responsibility (whether they like it or not) to choose the smarter path as they have other athletes and kids who may look up to them.

IF proven guilty beyond this upcoming hearing, I really hope the ITF comes down hard on Richard Gasquet. A significant ban from tennis (4-5 years?!), or complete ban for life is the only answer here.

I don't believe that 2 years suspension is adequate to make the troubled athletes think twice...Especially Gasquet who is relatively young (22 years old).

While I hope Richard seeks help, this behavior has absolutely no place in tennis.

If proven guilty, I say "good riddance" to Gasquet.

MarkOskar
The Tennis News Authority