It has been a dark week in the world of pro-sports due to the recent fall of tennis’ highest paid female from being held in a position of admiration to that of being shamed and held under fire for testing positive for the use of a banned performance-enhancing substance.
Maria Sharapova has maintained the spotlight in the world of athletics and in tennis, she constantly battled for the top spot with nemesis Serena Williams. However, the wheels have come off, leaving numerous journalists to uncover the truth behind the admission by the tennis star and why she chose to come forward herself at the point that she did.
Vanity Fair’s Michael Steinberger highlights the cues and discrepancies that indicate Sharapova and her team must have been aware of the ban on the substance which the athlete continued to take. First, however, Steinberger shares his perception of Maria after having the chance to interview her last year.
“It was one of the stranger interviews I have ever conducted: it was done standing up, on the red carpet that led her past the paparazzi and into the party, which was thick with bronzed Eurotrash. I had been offered the interview by Sharapova’s P.R. team and was given 10 minutes to speak with her. The peculiar setting threw me a bit, as did her height. I am over six feet tall, and I was dwarfed by her (true, she was in very high heels, but still…).But it turned out to be a terrific interview. She was smart, funny, and totally engaging. Candid, too.”
Interestingly enough, Sharapova shared her disinterest in following her tennis career with one as a commentator for her beloved sport. She instead noted how important brands and entrepreneurship was to her, as the journalist relays the tennis star’s words to him during the past interview.
“I love the sport, but I don’t see myself going into the commentary booth. Except for when my ‘boyfriend’ plays, I don’t remember when I actually sat and watched a whole match on television. I have a short attention span for that.”
The star’s focus on her Sugarpova brand was her main focus and her million dollar endorsements were of prime interest to Maria.
“With her huge endorsement portfolio and her Sugarpova brand, which began as a line of candies and branched out to clothing and fashion accessories, Sharapova was a budding mogul.”
Unfortunately, Sharapova’s drive to keep on top of her game in order to continue to bring in the buck via brand endorsements, has led to losing all that she had made her future’s focus. Sharapova is now expecting to be banned for a lengthy time from the game, and her biggest sponsors, including Nike and Porsche, have reportedly severed ties with the athlete. However, as ABC shares, there are a few sponsor who are continuing to support the tennis star.
Sharapova claims that her failed drug test for using a substance for health issues, that had previously been legal, was an innocent mistake. However, Steinberger relays the fact that many notifications that the drug would be a banned substance as of January were sent out, and that it simply is not like Maria to miss these details. Additonally, Maria apparently used the substance, meldonium, over the course of a decade, which is not the recommended dose by pharmaceutical reps. The substance is reportedly only to be used over a 4 to 6 week period.
“It turns out, too, that WADA had issued multiple notifications about the pending ban on meldonium; given Sharapova’s obsessive attention to detail and the size and competence of the team around her, it seems odd that she would have been unaware of this.”
The scandal aside, the journalist raises the question as to whether or not an athlete 5 years younger who was at the top of her game would be treated with such strict penalties as Sharapova has.
[Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
