Some sports come down really hard on cheaters who they believe they've proven have taken steroids or performed blood doping or used a drug that enhances the heart's pumping ability and on and on. The list of drugs athletes must avoid is very, very long, with the emphasis on "very".
Another example of the same problem in another sport is
Shelby Houlihan, a middle distance runner who has been banned from running competitions for over four years, forcing her to miss out on two Olympics and causing her to lose out on about $2 million in income.
If an athlete fails multiple tests and investigations have uncovered who provided the drugs and they've identified witnesses of the person acquiring on taking the drugs, then throw the book at them. But throwing the book for one failed drug test at trace levels is just beyond the pale.
I don't know why sports organizations are so punitive even with scant evidence. It makes no sense to me. From what I've read these organizations provide no transparency to their inner workings or timetables. The athletes affected are as much in the dark as everyone else.
Houlihan will be allowed to resume competitive running again in February of 2025, but I believe she'll be 32 by then. And after a ten month ban and counting Halep, who I think is 31, still has no idea when she'll be able to resume competitive tennis. She's a former #1 and has won several Grand Slams, as was true of Sharapova before her.
For Halep life will go on. She's a millionaire many times over, she's a god in her home country of Romania, she's married to a billionaire, life is good. But if this is how they treat Halep, imagine how they treat someone who's nobody, someone ranked somewhere in the top 200 in the world who's playing ITF tournaments (equivalent of minor leagues, very little money), living hand to mouth, traveling by bus when possible, and staying in people's homes or fleabag hotels, perhaps even with no coach or trainer, certainly no full time ones.
For players in the top few hundred in the world who have made little or no money on the tour there is a considerable potential upside after they retire. They are tennis gods and can leverage their talent and experience into lucrative teaching/coaching positions. While salaries at a top academy like the IMG (formerly Nick Bollettieri's academy) probably average around $50K, special positions are created for former pros who while their salary probably isn't much higher, they can command $500/hour for private lessons. If they don't mind continuing the travel they can sign on with current pros at salaries that at the top level are around $1.5 million.
I like the quickness and certainty of the NFL. "So-and-so tested positive for a banned substance and is suspended for four games." Second offense is ten games. Third is a season. No delay, no mystery. What other sports like tennis and running are doing where every offense has a unique outcome is a crime.
--Percy
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