Rafael Nadal has never failed a drug test. Yet the 12-time Grand Slam singles champion has been dogged by rumors of doping his entire career.
The speculation—something casual fans are mostly unaware of—has spread from the blogosphere to the mainstream. ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and The Bleacher Report have all acknowledged the accusations in stories within the past year. The website Tennis Now openly suggests a “connection” between Nadal and doping. The anonymous blog Tennis Has a Steroid Problem has a laundry list of “evidence” against the 27-year-old Spaniard. (The post includes this editor’s note: “The opinion of this blog is that Nadal is benefiting from the use of performance enhancing drugs.”)
A skit on a French satirical TV show last year depicted Nadal peeing in a car’s gas tank and using a steroid needle as a pen. Former tennis great Yannick Noah wrote an op-ed in November alleging that all Spanish athletes were doping. Retired Belgian player Christophe Rochus questioned Nadal’s ability to dominate the 2012 French Open and still fall to injury two weeks later at Wimbledon.
Is this a witch hunt? In some ways, yes. Conspiracy theorists see red flags everywhere: big biceps, phantom injuries, hair loss, skipping the Olympics, Spain’s rich doping history, and unprecedented stamina. Does acknowledging the speculation sully Nadal’s legacy? No. He’s still one of the best ever—he just happens to be caught in an era of performance-enhancing drugs.
Nadal, who did not respond to requests for comment, has denied any use of banned substances. Full story...
Related posts:
The speculation—something casual fans are mostly unaware of—has spread from the blogosphere to the mainstream. ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and The Bleacher Report have all acknowledged the accusations in stories within the past year. The website Tennis Now openly suggests a “connection” between Nadal and doping. The anonymous blog Tennis Has a Steroid Problem has a laundry list of “evidence” against the 27-year-old Spaniard. (The post includes this editor’s note: “The opinion of this blog is that Nadal is benefiting from the use of performance enhancing drugs.”)
A skit on a French satirical TV show last year depicted Nadal peeing in a car’s gas tank and using a steroid needle as a pen. Former tennis great Yannick Noah wrote an op-ed in November alleging that all Spanish athletes were doping. Retired Belgian player Christophe Rochus questioned Nadal’s ability to dominate the 2012 French Open and still fall to injury two weeks later at Wimbledon.
Is this a witch hunt? In some ways, yes. Conspiracy theorists see red flags everywhere: big biceps, phantom injuries, hair loss, skipping the Olympics, Spain’s rich doping history, and unprecedented stamina. Does acknowledging the speculation sully Nadal’s legacy? No. He’s still one of the best ever—he just happens to be caught in an era of performance-enhancing drugs.
Nadal, who did not respond to requests for comment, has denied any use of banned substances. Full story...
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- Andre Agassi admits to using dope...
- Lance Armstrong to be stripped of seven Tour de France titles and banned for life...
- See what tennis legends from the past look like today...
- Iran's Mansour Bahrami, world's greatest tennis entertainer...
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