Players Ready to Address Korda Drug Finding
January 17, 1999 - 0:0
MELBOURNE Leading tennis players prepared on Saturday to discuss the positive drug test returned by Australian Open champion Petr Korda, with the men's game apparently split over what should be done. It's impossible to get away from the topic, leading player representative Todd Martin told reporters after winning the Sydney international, a warm-up event for the Australian Open which starts on Monday in Melbourne. There's a compilation of opinions that I've heard and that other people have heard, so it will be nice to get us in a room tonight and see if we can't get a little bit of order, he said.
While the scheduled ATP Tour meeting was not called specifically to discuss Korda's positive drugs test at Wimbledon last year, it will certainly be high on the agenda. Players have expressed a wide variety of opinions over the past week, some calling for the wiry Czech player to be banned from the game. Others, including former world number one Andre Agassi and dual U.S. Open winner Pat Rafter, have said Korda deserves the benefit of the doubt at least until the full circumstances of his case are known.
Martin, one of the senior representatives on the ATP Tour Players' Council, has warned in the past week against a lynching of Korda over the affair. Korda has vowed to attend the annual meeting of about 200 of his peers, saying he had nothing to hide and was not afraid to stand up in front of his peers. Martin said Korda would not be called on to speak.
I think that would be a terrible position to put him in, I don't think it would be appropriate, Martin said, adding Korda was free to voice his opinion if he wanted to. The ITF announced in December that Korda tested positive for the performance enhancing steroid nandrolone at Wimbledon. Instead of receiving the customary penalty of a one-year ban under ITF rules, Korda was stripped of the $92,529 prize money and ranking points he earned.
An independent ITF Appeals Committee issued the lighter penalty because, despite finding him guilty of a category one doping offense, it accepted his plea that he had not knowingly taken the drug and believed there were exceptional circumstances. Korda has maintained he did nothing wrong but has refused to comment on what those exceptional circumstances might be, saying the matter was in the hands of his lawyers.
The ITF has said it will appeal against the light penalty to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. That appeal was due to be lodged this week, but Korda's lawyers said on Wednesday the 30-year-old Czech had begun proceedings in the English High Court challenging the ITF's right to appeal against the sentence. Korda's lawyers hoped the high court would grant a hearing within two months.
Martin's win over world number two Alex Corretja in the Sydney final means he will not arrive in Melbourne in time for the start of the meeting. He said the meeting would probably be chaired by America's Jim Grabb or Britain's Tim Henman in his absence. The meeting will also be attended by ATP Tour chief executive officer Mark Miles and ITF President Brian Tobin. Miles issued a statement on Friday saying nothing would be decided at the meeting.
(Reuter)
While the scheduled ATP Tour meeting was not called specifically to discuss Korda's positive drugs test at Wimbledon last year, it will certainly be high on the agenda. Players have expressed a wide variety of opinions over the past week, some calling for the wiry Czech player to be banned from the game. Others, including former world number one Andre Agassi and dual U.S. Open winner Pat Rafter, have said Korda deserves the benefit of the doubt at least until the full circumstances of his case are known.
Martin, one of the senior representatives on the ATP Tour Players' Council, has warned in the past week against a lynching of Korda over the affair. Korda has vowed to attend the annual meeting of about 200 of his peers, saying he had nothing to hide and was not afraid to stand up in front of his peers. Martin said Korda would not be called on to speak.
I think that would be a terrible position to put him in, I don't think it would be appropriate, Martin said, adding Korda was free to voice his opinion if he wanted to. The ITF announced in December that Korda tested positive for the performance enhancing steroid nandrolone at Wimbledon. Instead of receiving the customary penalty of a one-year ban under ITF rules, Korda was stripped of the $92,529 prize money and ranking points he earned.
An independent ITF Appeals Committee issued the lighter penalty because, despite finding him guilty of a category one doping offense, it accepted his plea that he had not knowingly taken the drug and believed there were exceptional circumstances. Korda has maintained he did nothing wrong but has refused to comment on what those exceptional circumstances might be, saying the matter was in the hands of his lawyers.
The ITF has said it will appeal against the light penalty to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. That appeal was due to be lodged this week, but Korda's lawyers said on Wednesday the 30-year-old Czech had begun proceedings in the English High Court challenging the ITF's right to appeal against the sentence. Korda's lawyers hoped the high court would grant a hearing within two months.
Martin's win over world number two Alex Corretja in the Sydney final means he will not arrive in Melbourne in time for the start of the meeting. He said the meeting would probably be chaired by America's Jim Grabb or Britain's Tim Henman in his absence. The meeting will also be attended by ATP Tour chief executive officer Mark Miles and ITF President Brian Tobin. Miles issued a statement on Friday saying nothing would be decided at the meeting.
(Reuter)