French tennis player Richard Gasquet was given the go-ahead to resume his career after being suspended 75 days for testing positive for cocaine use. The International Tennis Federation bought his argument that the cocaine entered his system after he kissed a woman at a Miami nightclub.
Gasquet told the tribunal that he kissed a woman, identified in the ruling only as “Pamela”, and suggested that was how the cocaine entered his system.
The tribunal stated, “this explanation is more likely than not to be the correct one”, and said that it “found the player to be a truthful and honest witness, and a man of integrity.”
Gasquet was ranked 32nd in the world prior to his suspension. He missed playing at the French Open and Wimbledon but was facing a 12-month suspension prior to the ruling.
“It’s a happy end to a painful ordeal,” the Frenchman told French radio. “I’m delighted to be able to start competing again. Now, it’s back to tennis.”
Gasquet is most known to Outsports readers after his public protestations that he is not gay.
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 2:36 am
How long was he kissing her for that amount of cocaine to be passed into his system?!?! I may be tired, but I’m not stupid.
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 9:17 am
The cocaine showed up only in one urine test and only in trace amounts; it didn’t show up in a (much more accurate) hair test. So I don’t know about the “I got it from kissing” reasoning, but it’s pretty clear that he actually isn’t a cocaine user.
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I believe that he didn’t do the coke… but kissing a girl? Come on!
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Sounds like both parties are relieved to drop the issue.
Maybe there was some kind of deal made with the ITF behind closed doors. If there is no explanation, than the ITF would really need to investigate why there was a discrepancy between the two tests.
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Shouldn’t the report have really been, kissed a “woman”
on Jul 17th, 2009 at 1:38 am
He licked it off her cooter guys. Read between the lines