Those Doping Argies, Part 7, 8.. 23?

By Peter BodoPublished October 06, 2005

Those of you who have kept abreast of my “Doping Argies” series of posts (just click on "Controvery/Scandal" in the categories list on the right), and the often supercharged debate over them, must be thinking that I’m chortling and rubbing my hands together over the news that Mariano Puerta may have gotten caught doping again. (Neil Harman of the Times, in London, has a good backgrounder on this according to Kamakshi over at Court Coverage, although my browser won’t link to it at the moment; meanwhile, try the the BBC's report, or the Guardian’s more comprehensive story.)

Well, for one thing, let’s remember that the intel regarding Puerta’s positive test in Paris is the product of a leak—a fairly credible one, if the track record outlined in the Guardian story is accurate, but still a leak. It would be wrong to rush to judgment until the ATP tour or the French Federation (ITF?) makes an official statement on this issue. I believe in trial by jury, not by L’Equipe—or CBS' 60 Minutes, or any other media outfit.

Meanwhile, I’ve had a bunch of e-mails from correspondents familiar with the debate, most of them very supportive of TennisWorld’s position—that something is amiss in Argentina, and all the carping and whining by self-deluding Argies (. . . You’re prejudiced against Argentina! Argentina is a scapegoat! Who's better in soccer, you or us, huh? Huh?) is a bunch of hooey.

I feel no great need or urge to pile on here. This is a serially sad, maddening, unfortunate story, in which tennis (the game) seems to be the real victim. I’m going to hold off on saying more until an official charge is made or until other developments in this story warrant returning to it.

But if the Puerta story is true, the most intriguing element here is that once again it seems like there may exist some kind of system-beating culture or conspiracy in Argentina which, while failing spectacularly (all these guys are getting caught), keeps convincing players in this small pool that the calculated risk is worth taking.