Slovakia’s Karol Beck, as predicted way back when Beck mysteriously withdrew from the Davis Cup squad that played (and lost) last year’s final against Croatia, has been hit with a two-year suspension for testing positive for steroids.
Beck denies any wrongdoing and is appealing the decision. I guess you’ve got to leave a crack in the door of another seemingly open-and-shut case, but isn’t it just a teensy-weensy bit weird that there has never been a single accused or convicted doper in this history of the universe who ever owned up to cheating and—simply—getting caught?
Check that—the most sensational doper of them all, Canadian sprinter and former Olympic champ Ben Johnson did ‘fess up not long after his positive test at the Seoul Olympic Games (he was eventually stripped of his gold medal and world record). His public apology was simple and it touched me deeply, for he showed genuine repentance and remorse. The money quote, in response to why he decided to tell the truth after vociferously protesting his innocence is almost achingly humble:
BTW, if you doubt how shadowy the world of big-time sports can be, read the entire Wikipedia entry) on Johnson; the stuff about Carl Lewis is fascinating.
Anyway, Beck thinks maybe somebody slipped him a steroid in a drink, or that he inadvertently slugged down some of his mom’s asthma medicine. It sounds like another “the dog ate my homework” defense.
In case you’re wondering, I’ll still turning over rocks for a doping post to come, hopefully by the middle of next week. Meanwhile, if you think I’m on some kind of witch-hunt here, keep in mind something that I admit I’d forgotten myself. Petr Korda, Grand Slam champion (Australia, 1998) was the first high-profile dope bust in tennis. Think about it—this is a Grand Slam champ who was caught doping (in fact, he was busted right after his big moment), not some journeyman who claims he mistakenly drank his uncle’s anti-balding medication and then got to the third round in St. Poelten.
And how do you think Marcelo Rios felt when he got the news? He had lost to Korda in straights in that final Down Under.
Rios had one of the strangest and saddest of all sagas in tennis, and he remains the best player in recent memory who never won a major. So what if he was a jerk; tennis results are about performance and this guy may have been cheated him out of his career moment.
Meanwhile, the ATP media guide has no asterisk alongside Korda’s name as the Australian champ (nor does the Australian Open media guide), and the disgraced Grand Slammer is happily competing on the senior Delta tour.
I’m not saying a doper has to be stoned to death, or hounded for the rest of his life by the doping stigma. But it makes me feel like the sport is a little cheap and dirty when people are not just willing to forget, so quickly, but when they're unwilling to make a point of highlighting a tainted victory.
It’s a terrible bind, trying to decide the degree to which we should forgive and forget, but it’s a conflict not of our making. You can thank Korda for this one . . .