MANILA, Philippines - Jennifer Capriati, the 3-time Grand Slam winning tennis player, slammed Maria Sharapova on Twitter after news of her failed drug test from this year’s Australian Open became public.
The 5-time Grand Slam champ Sharapova held a news conference on Tuesday announcing that a drug test had come up positive for Meldonium, a drug she said she had been taking since 2006 but was only included in the list of substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in January.
(EXPLAINER: What is Meldonium, the drug Sharapova tested positive for?)
Sharapova asserted that she had been taking the drug to combat an irregular EKG heart test and a family history of diabetes, claims which Capriati, who was forced to retire due to injuries, isn’t buying.
“Im extremely angry and disappointed. I had to lose my career and never opted to cheat no matter what.i had to throw in the towel and suffer,” Capriati, 39, wrote on her Twitter account.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Im extremely angry and disappointed. I had to lose my career and never opted to cheat no matter what.i had to throw in the towel and suffer</p>— Jennifer Capriati (@JenCapriati) <a href="https://twitter.com/JenCapriati/status/706954883279273984">March 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Capriati argued that there was a double standard with how Sharapova’s failed drug test is being handled, adding “Maybe I should start taking it? Lol I might feel better.”
Capriati adds that if it’s shown that Sharapova had cheated, “every title should be stripped. This is other people’s lives as well.”
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In my opinion of its all true every title should be stripped. This is other people's lives as well</p>— Jennifer Capriati (@JenCapriati) <a href="https://twitter.com/JenCapriati/status/706986855087153152">March 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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“What's the point of someone taking a heart medicine that helps your heart recover faster unless you have a heart condition? Is thataccurate?”
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What's the point of someone taking a heart medicine that helps your heart recover faster unless you have a heart condition? Is thataccurate?</p>— Jennifer Capriati (@JenCapriati) <a href="https://twitter.com/JenCapriati/status/706971472506580992">March 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Victor Conte, the founder of the BALCO Laboratory which provided performance-enhancing substances to many top athletes before being convicted in a controversy which rocked the sports world, opined on Twitter that the only reason Sharapova would have taken the substance would be to boost her performance.
“IMO. Sharapova was using this medication as a PED. Why would a doctor prescribe this without a heart condition?,” Conte tweeted.
(READ: Doping now shadows Maria Sharapova's rags-to-riches story)
Others in the tennis world were more forgiving of Sharapova, like the legendary Martina Navratilova, who tweeted “hope this gets cleared up as it seems 2 me to be an honest mistake.”
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sharapova Announces That She Failed Doping Test, -hope this gets cleared up as it seems 2 me to be an honest mistake <a href="https://t.co/nsfGkxDzGp">https://t.co/nsfGkxDzGp</a></p>— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) <a href="https://twitter.com/Martina/status/706942552721768449">March 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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WADA says it is aware of the issue but was awaiting a ruling from the International Tennis Federation before making comment. – Rappler.com