Sharapova -- 2-Year Ban

Wow I thought she might get off. Will she retire?

So, because she is not competing Nike can save money by dumping here completely. Will Nike force her to allow them to match any new contract and its terms a competitor might offer?

dumping *her

Avocado's Number wrote:

I was surprised not to see a thread on this.

I'm shocked she got two years. This is something everyone was on. Admittedly, she seemingly stayed on it into 2016 when it was banned.

SI wrote:

The report released by the ITF tribunal noted that a two-year suspension was imposed because the tribunal had determined Sharapova did not intentionally violate ITF doping rules. If it had been determined that her actions were intentional, she would have been suspended for four years.

What if she "identified as clean"? Don't they have to honor that or face the wrath of the Justice Department?

She should have kept her mouth shut and probably would have gotten off with "time served" so to speak. She could have just blamed it on the drug still being in her system from last fall when it wasn't banned. Kudos to her for being honest though.

Who cares, she is gorgeous. Look at her legs in this speedo suit: She is built like she can kick a lot of butt.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/06/08/16/350F516400000578-3631459-image-a-40_1465399111367.jpg

This is kinda bogus

Track athletes get away with lesser punishments for actually doping.

Sharapova was careless in using a product whose benefit in tennis is minimal.

I'm shocked that almost everyone on this thread (including rojo) are shocked by this.

Interesting. Time and time again we see that "too big to fall" doesn't seem to apply when it comes to drug bans, despite the words of cycnics.

Sharapova and Lance are big enough names for me to believe the likes of Farah and Rupp are not just being let off.

Be a bit embarrassing now when all the athletics meldonium dopers get away with a slap on the wrist.

I'm shocked she got a 2 year ban after publicly admitting that she had been taking it and hadn't noticed the ban. In my view, everyone taking it should have been banned because it is a ped. But usually you get a lesser sentence when you come clean about it.

Was about to start a thread on this. I was shocked the penalty was so much.

I thought there was going to be some amnesty for these meldonium users? was that false?

Metric Miler wrote:

Interesting. Time and time again we see that "too big to fall" doesn't seem to apply when it comes to drug bans, despite the words of cycnics.

Sharapova and Lance are big enough names for me to believe the likes of Farah and Rupp are not just being let off.

Rupp and Salazar (ergo Farah) are personal favorites of Phil Knight and Capriotti. Maria and Lance, not so much.

Uhhh no wrote:

I'm shocked that almost everyone on this thread (including rojo) are shocked by this.

She blonde and pretty. I'll leave it to your imagination how certain other players would fare on here under the same circumstances.

17.... Dr. Skalny concluded that his patient had a mineral metabolism disorder, insufficient supply of nutrients from food intake and other abnormalities which made it necessary to boost the immune system. He proposed a detailed medicinal and nutritional regime which at the outset comprised about 18 medications and supplements.

19. In the period from January to April 2006 Dr. Skalny sent very detailed messages to Ms Sharapova advising on her nutritional intake, including advice as to medications. The messages which have been disclosed include the following advice given in 2006 on taking Mildronate:

“Mildronate 1-2 X 10, repeat in 2 wks (before training or competition)”

“1 hr before competition, 2 pills of Mildronate”

“During games of special importance, you can increase your Mildronate dose to 3-4 pills (1 hr before the match). However, it is necessary to consult me on all these matters (please call)”

“30 minutes prior to a training session: Mildronat – 1 Capsule. 30-45 minutes prior to a tournament Mildronat 2 capsules”.

25.... the list of substances recommended by Dr. Skalny had grown from 18 to 30, including Magnerot, Riboxin and Mildronate.

http://www.itftennis.com/media/231178/231178.pdf

Maria Sharapova was a junkie. I have no doubt that she was also on the "Lance Armstrong Program".

I don't see how this drug benefits her. Women's tennis is hardly an endurance sport. Most of her matches last an hour or less. And probably less than 1/2 of that is spent on the court.

It would be like suspending a chess player for taking EPO. Yeah, she broke a rule. But the rule hasn't even been in place until this year. Very unfair.

2 years is a pretty lenient ban for someone who has been cheating for years. And let's make no mistake, melodium is a ped and taking it is cheating, even taking it before the ban was immoral.