On June 8th, the ITF (International Tennis Federation) ruled that Maria Sharapova, one of the highest paid and most successful female tennis players, had committed an "anti-doping violation" for using a drug called meldonium, which was on the list of prohibited substances.
As soon as Sharapova was notified that she failed a drug test following her match at the 2016 Australian Open, she held a press conference to explain what had happened. In her video, she admits to making a "huge mistake" and takes full responsibility for her actions. At the same time, she points out some small details that help create a fuller picture of what happened.
She was taking a drug called meldonium. In her video, she explains she had been taking the drug for 10 years to help with a heart condition. According to Huffington Post, it can help with blood flow. The problem that Sharapova faced was the fact that it was recently placed on the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) list of prohibited drugs as of January 1.
The question creating this controversial ruling is whether or not Sharapova was taking this drug to enhance athletic performance, or if she was in genuine physical need of it. This leads to the question of why the WADA banned the drug.
According to an NPR interview with an employee of the WADA, it was on the watchlist for a year before they had enough evidence to support the fact that it may be abused by athletes and teams.
Initially, after seeing Sharapova's press conference, I sided with her. She made a genuine mistake, and was using an approved drug for 10 years. In order for her to find out the drug was banned, she would have had to maneuver through a complicated set of emails listing hundreds of drugs. While it is her responsibility to do so, and it seems strange that no one on her team was aware of the rule change, it seems to me that she was not ignoring this drug change with doping intentions. She explained in her press conference that she had a series of hereditary heart conditions that led her to taking the drug and being prescribed to it by her doctor.
If fault is to be blamed on anyone in this case, it is the doctor who prescribed the drug to Sharapova, and did so despite it being on the prohibited list. I still side with Sharapova and hope that she can win her appeals. An athlete is responsible for everything that goes into their body, but an individual as famous and successful as Sharapova should be able to adequately rely on and trust her team.
