[Russian Rocket]

Yup, I've read about it.
It is a stimulant no doubt about it, but it's definitely not an EPO.

I remember the day when an anti-allergy over the counter drug Sudafed was outlawed too, because it has a pseudoephedrine.
I think last year Backstrom on a hockey team Sweden got banned because he took one of the anti allergy medications.

The bottom line here, is she took this medication for over 10 years and had an Rx for it...it was no secret to anyone.


Whoever is taking care of her drug regiment needs to be fired and replaced with someone who has a clue.

I doubt that the person who's worth 200 mil, runs multiple companies and plays pro tennis at the same time, has the time to stay on top of the updates from the anti-doping agency.

[Conqueror]

I'll only say one bad thing about Maria, she's aged horribly. I just looked up how old she was, my guess was 33 or 34, she's 28! Ouch. She looks almost 40 to me. Must be that Chernobyl or something. Good thing she's got all that money for the plastic surgery and makeup she'll need when she actually is 40. I'll never forget those grunt battles she had with Serena over the years. "Uggh....Unnnn.... Uggggggghhh.... Unnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" It always seemed like it was more about who could squeal louder versus who actually won the point with those two. Like some kind of sexual frustration played out on a tennis court. Somewhere there are some guys that got busted by their wives/gfs/parents for watching porn when all they were doing was watching a women's tennis match between Serena and Maria.

Effect of doping!
Watch out for Nadal. Another doper.

[Mac4Lyfe]

Nothing to see here. Russian athletes would never dope. Don't you know they all have chronic heart conditions.

why would you stop backing her now if she was treating a chronic condition for over 10 years and it was OK to take it up until this year?

settle down - we're not talking EPO here

[frugalgambler]

Sure, all Russians dope and they eat children for breakfast, just like Putin. Except, Sharapova has moved to the US when she was like six, and the only known athlete to die from a heart failure at a young age was Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner, who was American. And then there is Armstrong.

[KVB]

...* Increased rate of recovery after maximal and sub-maximal loads...

Auto Donk, check in pal.

[thechaoz]

I'd wreck it

[El Nino]

Lost $12.5 million in endorsements...whoops

[ACoochy]

Lost $12.5 million in endorsements...whoops

And thats just the start...

She's gonna lose a heap of potential earnings here...

[w@lt]

Damn. Porsche, Nike, Tag Heuer all cut ties. Seems pretty drastic.

[shari91]

Damn. Porsche, Nike, Tag Heuer all cut ties. Seems pretty drastic.

It's because no one with two brain cells believes her bullshit excuses and other tennis players are publicly calling her out on this crap, including Andy Murray. There was no reason for her to be using that drug, especially when it's banned in the US. So either she's a Russian who was taking a performance enhancing drug that's favoured by her fellow Russian athletes who aren't known to be the most clean athletes out there or we say because she moved to the US so young she should've stayed away from it since it's illegal there. Can't have it both ways.

Ciao Ciao Maria.

[Russian Rocket]

Sure, all Russians dope and they eat children for breakfast, just like Putin. Except, Sharapova has moved to the US when she was like six, and the only known athlete to die from a heart failure at a young age was Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner, who was American. And then there is Armstrong.

excellent response

[Russian Rocket]

It's because no one with two brain cells believes her bullshit excuses and other tennis players are publicly calling her out on this crap, including Andy Murray. There was no reason for her to be using that drug, especially when it's banned in the US. So either she's a Russian who was taking a performance enhancing drug that's favoured by her fellow Russian athletes who aren't known to be the most clean athletes out there or we say because she moved to the US so young she should've stayed away from it since it's illegal there. Can't have it both ways.

Ciao Ciao Maria.

The World doesn't consist of just US...many advanced cancer drugs/treatments are widely available in Europe and are banned/not yet approved in the States. These tennis players are also playing all over the World and not just in America. So just because something is banned in US, does not necessarily mean, that it cannot be used by an athlete from another country to treat a chronic condition.

Her only misstep here is that she did not follow the new 2016 guidelines from a anti-doping agency.

[shari91]

The World doesn't consist of just US...many advanced cancer drugs/treatments are widely available in Europe and are banned/not yet approved in the States. These tennis players are also playing all over the World and not just in America. So just because something is banned in US, does not necessarily mean, that it cannot be used by an athlete from another country to treat a chronic condition.

Her only misstep here is that she did not follow the new 2016 guidelines from a anti-doping agency.

I 100% agree with all you said above until your final sentence. I have no problem with her using whatever whenever. She was ahead of WADA 10 years ago and I have nothing but respect for whomever put her on to those drugs. Just because the US says something's illegal doesn't mean it's dodgy. However when you look at what it's used for for a layperson compared to what a professional athlete would use it for, she's not going to win that argument. In fact that's what many people - including say Jen Capriati, Brad Gilbert and others in the sport have pointed out - that if she had any of those conditions that Euros use that drug for, she wouldn't be an elite athlete. And by the slim chance she was, she'd be taking a whole host of other crap to go along with it. To me her mistake was not heeding the warning in 2015 when WADA said they now knew elite athletes across various sports were taking the drug to enhance performance and then again when the official decree came out that it was banned as of Jan 1, 2016.

Her sole job is and always has been as a pro athlete and all that entails. If you can't even be bothered to click a link in an email that she admitted she opened and read herself... sorry either you're a bloody idiot or you're the arrogant biatch you've always been accused of being. Either way she's done now. I know you like her and I get it but this is just a ridiculous situation that we're being told we're supposed to believe and no one's buying it.

[Russian Rocket]

I like her, but I don't like any athletes who dope...regardless whether she's Russian or not.
Every pro athlete in every sport is trying to get an age and the vast majority of them would take whatever the legal/allowed supplements/drugs the coaching stuff is going to give it to them.

You and I know that Sharapova is not dumb, and she was legally taking this drug for over 10 years. So my question to you is do you think she continued to take this steroid, all while knowing that she could be banned any day now, to see if she can cheat the system? Or was it really an honest mistake and a huge misstep by her coaching stuff?

[shari91]

I like her, but I don't like any athletes who dope...regardless whether she's Russian or not.
Every pro athlete in every sport is trying to get an age and the vast majority of them would take whatever the legal/allowed supplements/drugs the coaching stuff is going to give it to them.

You and I know that Sharapova is not dumb, and she was legally taking this drug for over 10 years. So my question to you is do you think she continued to take this steroid, all while knowing that she could be banned any day now, to see if she can cheat the system? Or was it really an honest mistake and a huge misstep by her coaching stuff?

I'm on the fence. I do think she continued to take it knowing it could be banned but I also believe she didn't click the link when it finally was. From the sounds of it there are various drugs that are put on watch lists in any given year because obviously science and technology starts to catch up with what these drugs entail and why an elite athlete would use them but whether they all get banned eventually depends on what tests WADA has at their disposal and how quickly they can sort it all out so I assume that she was just playing the wait and see game. That's apparently what that one email a year is for... to let athletes know what drugs WADA will now consider illegal on Jan 1 the following year. To not bother to click that link in an email she said she opened just seems ludicrous to me and I think that's partly why her fellow players aren't on her side. One of them - and I want to say it was Matt Ebden but it could've been someone just as third tier so don't quote me- said that yearly email is the equivalent of the CEO of your company sending you something about whether you have a job after Xmas. It's not like it's about a practice match the next day or some charity event. Ignoring it has the ability to end your career and/or any endorsements you may have which for most lower rung players is devastating but for someone in her position to not even bother is just insane.

If it was an honest mistake that's what it was but unfortunately the law doesn't care nor do sporting regulatory bodies. Ignorance isn't bliss when it comes to any of that stuff... it wouldn't be for us if we didn't know that such and such was illegal in a certain country or what the speed limit was and that defense won't work for her or any other athlete. She should take comfort in the fact though that as time goes on and WADA's tests become more refined, several of her fellow tennis players will be busted too. Maybe they'll be retired by then and maybe she'll be busted along with them, but she's definitely not the only current player who is doping whether they're ahead of technology or churning blood or whatever.

[jjgold]

I never knew this steroid taken in large doses can be effective on the body meaning advantage vs others

I wonder if she just made up she took it for other issues?

[Russian Rocket]

yeah that drug list gets constantly modified and obviously its her job to keep up with the latest updates
can't blame anyone, but herself for what happened -- and I think she did just that at the press conference

[shari91]

I never knew this steroid taken in large doses can be effective on the body meaning advantage vs others

I wonder if she just made up she took it for other issues?

100% she did. She wasn't going to come out and say she took it for an advantage because she hadn't been handed a punishment from the WTA yet and more importantly she'd want to keep her sponsors. She found out a few days ago that she failed... in my opinion she and her team did their research and sussed out a story to say to the public and while no one is believing it, I have no problem with her trying to save her ass.

yeah that drug list gets constantly modified and obviously its her job to keep up with the latest updates
can't blame anyone, but herself for what happened -- and I think she did just that at the press conference

I agree. She handled it as well as she could in that situation. Some day it'll all come out as it always does when people close to her today and aren't a few years from now start selling stories about her or those who were close to her a few years ago and aren't today start doing it tomorrow. It's all good. Her money has been made not on being some prolific athlete like Fed, Nadal, Djoko, Serena, Steffi, etc but because she's turned herself into a brand and there's nothing wrong with that.

USA Today just tweeted


USA TODAY Sports Verified account ‏@USATODAYsports

The drug Maria Sharapova says she used for 10 years has normal treatment cycle of 4-6 weeks.


At some point she just needs to come clean and all will be forgiven. She's a white, pretty girl. She'll have no dramas even if she never plays tennis again.

[Russian Rocket]

Yeah the normal cycle for many drugs is different, than the treatment that patients get when they have a chronic condition.

In a normal cycle you can take EPO for a month to jump start your red blood cell production or you can take it for the rest of your life when you have HIV or cancer. It all depends on an individual case and condition.

I'm no doctor, and I don't think any of us here are qualified to tell, if she was suppose to take this steroid for more than 6 weeks or not.

[shari91]

Yeah the normal cycle for many drugs is different, than the treatment that patients get when they have a chronic condition.

In a normal cycle you can take EPO for a month to jump start your red blood cell production or you can take it for the rest of your life when you have HIV or cancer. It all depends on an individual case and condition.

I'm no doctor, and I don't think any of us here are qualified to tell, if she was suppose to take this steroid for more than 6 weeks or not.

To be fair USA Today is pretty pro Tennis so I think they're just going on what she said she was taking it for and then consulting those who actually know what the medication does and what it's used for. What chronic condition did she say she had? Nothing. The company that manufactures the fricken drug says 4-6 weeks. She's full of it darling.

Meldonium is also known as mildronate, the name by which Sharapova knew the drug, having taken it since 2006.
But what do we know about the substance, why was the Russian taking it and why was it banned only this year?


• Meldonium is used to treat ischaemia: a lack of blood flow to parts of the body, particularly in cases of angina or heart failure.

(Neither of which she said she had)


• It is manufactured in Latvia and only distributed in Baltic countries and Russia. It is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and is not authorised in the rest of Europe.


• It increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity in athletes.

• Wada found “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance” by virtue of carrying more oxygen to muscle tissue.

• The decision to add meldonium to the banned list was approved on 16 September 2015, and it came into effect on 1 January 2016. Wada had spent the previous year monitoring the drug before adding it to the banned list.


• The drug was name-checked in the latest investigative documentary on Russian doping reforms by the German Hajo Seppelt on Sunday. The documentary referred to a 2015 study in which 17% of Russian athletes (724 of 4,316) tested were found to have meldonium in their system. A global study found 2.2% of athletes had it in their system.


• L’Equipe reported that the scientific advisor to the French Agency Against Doping (AFLD), Professor Xavier Bigard, said in interviews with athletes at last year’s European Games in Baku that a wide proportion of athletes admitted taking meldonium.


• It is classed as an S4 substance under the Wada code, which addresses hormone and metabolic modulators.


• The standard ban under the World Anti-Doping Code is four years.

Meldonium company says normal course of treatment is four to six weeks

• A memo was sent out to athletes by Russia’s anti-doping agency last September informing them of the decision to ban its use.


• Sharapova says she has been taking the drug for 10 years after she was regularly falling ill. She had a magnesium deficiency and family history of diabetes.


• Several athletes have been suspended since the turn of 2016 after testing positive for the dug. Abebe Aregawi, the 2013 women’s 1,500m world champion, has been provisionally suspended after meldonium was found in a sample she provided. Endeshaw Negesse, the 2015 Tokyo marathon champion, was also banned after reportedly testing positive for the same substance. Others include Olga Abramova and Artem Tyschcenko, two Ukrainian biathletes, Eduard Vorganov, a Russian cyclist and Ekaterina Bobrova, a Russian ice dancer.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...led-drugs-test

[jjgold]

She was looking for an edge but was legal most of the time

I think she should retire

[shari91]

She wasn't taking that shit because of some disease or fear because any doctor with half a brain - and obviously she would be hiring the best - wouldn't allow her to be on it for 10 years for a chronic condition. She was taking it to enhance her performance and that's fine. To me that's no different than gamblers who find correlated parlays at a book or other LEGAL (in sport) and/or ACCEPTED ways (in the case of a sportsbook) to game the system. Why not? Everyone looks for a leg up and if you can afford people to suss out the best shit to buy in Latvia and "other Baltic countries" because it's even banned in the rest of Europe, then go for it. But the second she found out it was now on the watch list she should've wised up. And then she should've clicked that damn link in that email. No sympathy for her. I don't think she's a disgusting pig drug cheat but she was for a few months whether she meant to be or not.

[Russian Rocket]

What chronic condition did she say she had? Nothing.

Magnesium deficiency and a signs of diabetes. The first one would in fact cause abnormal heart rhythms and coronary spasms.

The Latvian company that produces this drug, itself said that they do not believe that this drug creates an unfair athletic advantage, and they intend to appeal the decision to place it on the banned list.

At the end of the day only she knows her body...and only she knows why she took this drug.

It's always easy to assume things...

[shari91]

Magnesium deficiency and a signs of diabetes. The first one would in fact cause abnormal heart rhythms and coronary spasms.

The Latvian company that produces this drug, itself said that they do not believe that this drug creates an unfair athletic advantage, and they intend to appeal the decision to place it on the banned list.

At the end of the day only she knows her body...and only she knows why she took this drug.

It's always easy to assume things...

Magnesium deficiency and "signs of diabetes" doesn't equal angina and/or heart failure. The majority of Westerners have signs of diabetes. And magnesium def is a common problem and easily treated without drugs. Shit I can find the solutions to both just from Googling so surely her advanced medical team could. Those aren't chronic conditions... a deficiency isn't chronic. FFS I've had Vit C and E deficiencies. And "signs" of diabetes means nothing. I have signs of being Oprah's daughter. Unfortunately that doesn't mean crap all

[cashin81]

Latvian drug companies? Magnesium def? SIGNS OF DIABETES???

[Russian Rocket]

Magnesium deficiency and "signs of diabetes" doesn't equal angina and/or heart failure. The majority of Westerners have signs of diabetes. And magnesium def is a common problem and easily treated without drugs. Shit I can find the solutions to both just from Googling so surely her advanced medical team could. Those aren't chronic conditions... a deficiency isn't chronic. FFS I've had Vit C and E deficiencies. And "signs" of diabetes means nothing. I have signs of being Oprah's daughter. Unfortunately that doesn't mean crap all

I don't think anyone is saying that she had angina or heart failure. Magnesium is the most critical mineral required for electrical stability of every cell in the body. A magnesium deficiency may be responsible for more diseases than any other nutrient. While the mag deficiency itself is not a chronic condition, it is in fact might be a sign of underlying chronic condition. Digestive disorders such as Crohn’s disease, various genetic diseases and other conditions may cause magnesium wasting by the kidneys or problems with absorption.

The drug was on the market for over 10 years - everyone knew about it...and only in January of this year it got added to the banned list.
Asthma meds and over the counter anti-allergy medications are also on this banned list for crying out loud.

So you're basically saying that if I take Sudafed for 10 years for runny nose, you would automatically label me as a dope head, just because the anti-doping agency has it on its list?

C'mon now...

[Russian Rocket]

The reason why many drugs are added to that list is because agency THINKS that the drug might give an edge to athletes and not because it was proven that the drug is actually given an edge to someone.

[jjgold]

Sasha YOUR CLEAN

I shot many roids in my ass it is why my body looks decent but rooster is dead and small

[shari91]

I don't think anyone is saying that she had angina or heart failure. Magnesium is the most critical mineral required for electrical stability of every cell in the body. A magnesium deficiency may be responsible for more diseases than any other nutrient. While the mag deficiency itself is not a chronic condition, it is in fact might be a sign of underlying chronic condition. Digestive disorders such as Crohn’s disease, various genetic diseases and other conditions may cause magnesium wasting by the kidneys or problems with absorption.

The drug was on the market for over 10 years - everyone knew about it...and only in January of this year it got added to the banned list.
Asthma meds and over the counter anti-allergy medications are also on this banned list for crying out loud.

So you're basically saying that if I take Sudafed for 10 years for runny nose, you would automatically label me as a dope head, just because the anti-doping agency has it on its list?

C'mon now...

I'm definitely not saying if Sudafed suddenly became banned I'd label you a dope head at all.

In fact I said above:

"I don't think she's a disgusting pig drug cheat but she was for a few months whether she meant to be or not."

That's what it comes down to. And then when you see that the drug was also banned in Europe other than Baltic countries and so many other - mainly Russian - athletes have been busted using it to performance enhance... seriously let's get real now.

I've also said several times that she beat WADA for close to 10 years... their fault, not hers for wanting to get an edge - but now her edge expired and she didn't bother to read the memo. Shit happens. It's very hard to feel sorry for someone fired from multiple jobs when you know they still have a gazillion dollars in the bank. Most people have one job and would be fired and have nothing if they were found to be dishonest. She'll be fine

[Russian Rocket]

Are you calling her dishonest based on the change in an anti-doping agency's protocol for this year?
Or do you actually know for a fact that she was not sick and was knowingly doping for 10 years on the open in front of everyone with a prescription in her hand?

[cashin81]

Are you calling her dishonest based on the change in an anti-doping agency's protocol for this year?
Or do you actually know for a fact that she was not sick and was knowingly doping for 10 years on the open in front of everyone with a prescription in her hand?

Shes not sick rocket. Come on.
You can reverse "signs of diabetes" and you can increase magneium intake.
Healthy, young athelete.

[Russian Rocket]

Shes not sick rocket. Come on.

Casha you know what they say about different opinions?...Of course you do, comrade

"She's not sick" is not really an answer though.

[t-wizzle]

Peyton and Maria are going to retire on the same day...unreal

Did she retire?

[Russian Rocket]

Did she retire?

No...but you've started yet another season-long thread to silence the haters on that day

[shari91]

Are you calling her dishonest based on the change in an anti-doping agency's protocol for this year?
Or do you actually know for a fact that she was not sick and was knowingly doping for 10 years on the open in front of everyone with a prescription in her hand?

I didn't call her dishonest until she opened an email and failed to click a link that would've told her that the dope she was taking for 10 years had now been found out by WADA. When she continued to take it whether out of arrogance or not, she then became a dishonest drug cheat.

If you honestly believe she was "sick", prescription or not and playing elite tennis and winning Grand Slams then you are seriously a goose. Be real now. I could go tomorrow and get a prescription for Epilepsy. Doesn't mean I have it. Hers was for a bloody deficiency that there's no proof of and supposedly signs of a disease that a gazillion people have. Even Maria never claimed she was sick ffs.