Agassi's Plea

Former world number one tennis player Andre Agassi recently admitted to taking crystal meth during his playing days. The tennis world was stunned; former and current tennis players have expressed their shock and disgust at the revelation. Agassi has been stung by the response and has asked for compassion and leniency.

Reacting to Martina Navratilova’s comment, who said she was shocked and stunned by the fact that he lied to ATP about his drug use, Agassi said, "It's what you don't want to hear," Agassi said. "I would hope along with that would come some compassion that maybe this person doesn't need condemnation. Maybe this person could stand a little help. Because that was at a time in my life when I needed help.”

Responding to rumours that he may have played under the influence of meth, Agassi said that he has never played while doped. According to him it would be physically impossible to play tennis while doped as dehydration coupled with extremely high heart-rate would not let anyone last even a set.

Agassi is facing flak from all quarters with players like Marat Safin even asking him to return all his grand-slams and money he earned. In an interview with Spiegel Online Agassi denied having any regrets on this revelation. He said he wrote the book because he felt he had something to tell people. He wanted to come out in the open as he felt wretched about having lied. He expressed hope that his book might help other people like sports-persons or teenagers who have similar kinds of problems. According to him sportspersons testing positive for recreational drugs should not be condemned for it because they might actually be suffering and in need of help.

The main reason Agassi stated for coming out with the book was to give hope and inspiration to people who are forced to lead lives they have not chosen or are trapped in marriages they do not want to be in. He expressed hope that book can offer some ray of light to people who are in similar dark places in life as he was. The loss of reputation and tarnished image would be of no significance to him if the book could serve this purpose

Agassi has written about his unhappy childhood. He has written about his father’s violent streak and how he had forced Agassi to play tennis though he hated the game. He has written about his insecurities regarding his game and life. He was so conscious that when he started losing hair at a young age he started using fake hair and was always worried of moving on court because his hairpiece might come off.

The biggest regret Agassi has is lying about his drug usage. He said that lying cannot be justified and he was ashamed of it. He flatly denied any intentions of making a comeback and said he was finally at peace with himself and his life. His wife Steffi Graf and two children have provided him stability and he feels blessed to live a privileged life with them.