Thoughts on the Agassi Revelations

What are we to make of Andre's recent revelations about his drug use 10 years ago? The following is my take on the recent revelations of Andre Agassi in his new book, based on his People Magazine article, his 60 Minutes interview with Katie Couric, and the reactions in the tennis community to these revelations. I am surprised, even shocked, at the recriminations of Agassi coming from such tennis luminaries as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Martina Navratilova. I would have thought they would be more understanding and compassionate to a man who has brought such wide and excellent publicity to the sport over so many years--not to mention the increases this has meant to their collective pocketbooks. Instead, Andre's honest revelations, belated though they may be, have brought down a firestorm of criticism on his head. But let's review Andre's case. Agassi had an over-the-top, driven, and even scary (to a young child) father who forced him to play tennis to the exclusion of education and the other normal accompaniments of childhood. He didn't play tennis because he liked it. He played because he was afraid of his father's reaction if he didn't. He became, to the exclusion of...