Gasquet Suspension Blown Away

Normally I try not to be snarky, on this blog at least. Heaven knows there is plenty of that on the Internet already. But reading today that Richard Gasquet, the French tennis player, had his suspension for cocaine use shortened because it was "inadvertent" is irresistible. 

Let's put aside the silliness of the ATP testing for cocaine; no one can argue that coke is a performance enhancing drug. Certainly, no one that has watched Gasquet play in the last year -- because his performance hasn't been remotely "enhanced". 

It's also ironic that Gasquet is getting a perhaps shorter suspension for drug use than Potito Starace, the Italian player, got for betting $30 on a match. 

But the real question is: At what kind of French nightclubs does one inadvertently consume cocaine and how? How did Gasquet rationalize this?

Perhaps, "When I ordered coke and fries I meant Coca-Cola"

Or, "I thought they were garlic fries"

Or, "I tripped on the dance floor, fell on my face on top of someone else's line of coke and accidentally inhaled when someone stepped on my back." 

Well, anyway, I'm glad Gasquet is back on the tour, because he's a talented player with an entertaining game. Let's hope the incident gets him refocused on tennis so we can enjoy watching him play. 

LONDON -- Richard Gasquet  has been cleared to resume playing by the International Tennis Federation despite testing positive for cocaine.

The ITF's doping ban of two months and 15 days ended Wednesday. He tested positive at a tournament in Miami in March.
An independent anti-doping tribunal called by the federation accepted the Frenchman's plea that he was not significantly at fault for inadvertently consuming cocaine at a nightclub.
The tribunal ruled it would be "unjust and disproportionate" to impose a 12-month ban.
Gasquet was provisionally suspended in May and missed the French Open and Wimbledon.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press