The Andre Agassi Saga

There may not be a lot of tennis fans out there, but as a long-time tennis fan (and a little bit of a player myself), the recent revelations that retired tennis star Andre Agassi were still big to me.

For those of you who have not followed tennis/sports news, the former tennis great revealed in a book that he had always hated tennis, and was only forced to play by a verbally demanding (or abusive) father. Agassi also told the world that the very famous hair that he had in his early days turned out to be fake. But the most shocking revelation he gave was that he had used crystal meth during his playing time, and lied to the ATP (the professional organization for men’s tennis) about a failed drug test…

Andre Agassi had always been a tennis player that I liked. When he first came out and was rocking that crazy mane, and when he was playing in torn-up jeans, I marveled at his rebellious image (I was young then too). When he showed up, for the first time, at Wimbledon in his all-white tennis attire, I was rooting for him. Later on in his career, he became a standard for determination on the court. Though he was never my favourite tennis player, he was always a player that I liked, and I liked him a lot.

Did these revelations change the way I look at Agassi? Not a whole lot. I have long come to the realization that we really do not know these people – athletes, movie stars, public figures… many of them have a dark side to them, and though I do not condone that dark side, it is no different than a friend who is struggling with substance abuse issues, or a person I work with who is fighting a losing battle against some personal demons. Yes, Agassi is an athlete, and a very famous one at that. He has, like it or not, become a role model for many. If you have been reading from me long enough, you would know that I have always given praise to individuals, but I have long stopped worshipping them or expecting them to be, holistically, a role model (many of them still have attributes we can learn from and model from).

This, however, does not mean Agassi is spared from my criticism. The drug use, the lies he told the ATP aside, I do question his motives behind this. Many have argued that he is not doing this for the money (he was paid five million dollars up front to write this book) but is instead using this in as an emotional therapy to his past demons. While I do not deny the therapeutic side to his actions, I would also question why these revelations were not given without a return, or why they were not revealed while he was still on tour, but instead came after he had retired, and after he has been fading from the limelight. So these revelations are helping himself emotionally… but while he’s at it, he may as well get paid really, really well to do that.

Just another star that has fallen. If anyone is still idol-worshipping after one of these celebrities, you are naïve behind belief…