Doping

Haha inside job then? Perhaps there is truth there, but an unfortunate side-effect of this cluster of Russian positives and corruption scandals is that Johnny England can disregard doping as someone they do, a Russian problem, all the while believing all the lies that issue from Lord Coe's mouth.

Did she start losing matches or something?

Did she start losing matches or something?

The Kremlin rewards performance on the field of play, but doesn't punish a lack thereof. When unfortunate"accidents" befall Russians, it's always a good idea to look at what they have said about freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

If Sharapova has been thrown under a bus, and I'm not saying either way, then it does seem to be a very small bus. More like having a large toy bus thrown at her head than being run over by the Number 10 as it trundles along Warwick Gardens.
While not impossible, it seems contradictory to the under the bus throwing hypothesis that she would then be afforded the high level of control over the story that she has so far.

The drug in question is only manufactured in Latvia and it's use has been endemic in Russian sport (see previous pages). It was only added to the banned list because it's use was endemic in Russian sport hence Russian positives.

One should note that Sharapova left Russia when she was very young, so she's not necessarily emblematic of Russia's attitude/approach to doping. I imagine her 'team' are either comprised mostly of Americans, or are at least international in its make-up.

I would add that the word 'moral' is perhaps a bit strong - it's just sport we're discussing here, not warfare. One might prefer to think in terms of 'conduct', etiquette' and the the 'spirit of fair play' generally.
If this interests, then C L R James's excellent 'Beyond a Boundary' touches on the notion of sporting ethics, such as they are. He posits that cricket was built on sporting integrity, which informed not just the British notion of fair play - 'it's not cricket' - but that of its colonies too. When C L R James visited America, he was shocked by an attitude that appeared to justify victory at all costs.

It was only added to the banned list because it's use was endemic in Russian sport

Source?

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/08/russian-warning-maria-sharapova-meldonium-athletes-vitaly-mutko

Loving this attitude from another retird Russian tennis player:

“The Olympics are soon and Maria is one of our main medal hopes, I hope she can play whatever happens. She admitted her guilt, I think there should be leniency in the punishment. If she can perform in the Olympics it will be great news for all fans.”

Cheers - saw a quote which reported usage among Russian athletes (the first one you posted), but hadn't seen anything comparing usage to other nations.

Navratilova tweeted something along the lines of "this is such a silly mistake, hopefully it can all be sorted out soon and Sharapova will be playing again"

That's not unreasonable. On first presentation that's what it could easily have been construed to be. Not everyone remembers to wait for facts to emerge before commenting on breaking news. Then again, Navratilova isn't a news agency.

The facts are fairly simple, mistake or not (and as it's not a substance available in the USA I'm struggling to think how it can be a mistake...) - she got busted for a prohibited substance. She admitted to taking it for many years. She's got a whole team backing her up - even if she herself didn't read the WADA memo, there's absolutely no excuse for the people supplying her with her supplements to not be up with the prohibited substance list.
To reiterate - this is a drug that has never been allowed by America's FDA. Sharapova has been based in the USA for over 20 years. To get this drug for her alleged heart condition, she'd have to bypass the American healthcare system. As a legitimate excuse, it makes no sense.

This. Just been having this debate with co-workers, who basically swallowed the medical excuse wholesale, and the fact the drug wasn't banned until January.

But the drug is performance-enhancing, whether it was banned or not, as evidenced by the 17% of Russian athletes using it. The reasons for her using it are hocum, the usual tired excuses for drug cheats when they are caught. So while she didn't break any rules until January this year, the preceding ten years she was using this drug to boost her athletic ability and give her an unfair advantage over opponents who weren't. Not against the rules of the game but certainly against the spirit of the game. And it begs the question if she was using this drug to gain an advantage, what else was there?

It's also recommended to have a usage/treatment time of 4-6 weeks. Not 10 years.
http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/60e94fc913e145639887f4cc0fc3405e/4-6-weeks-normal-treatment-drug-sharapova-case

She's an idiot for getting caught and has clearly spent years using a drug, not for its intended purposes, but to get an advantage over her competitors. Straight out cheat, glad she got caught.

hocum

Hokum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMuqSlao6d8

I see Oleg has given his support to Sharapova

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Oleg's moral compass in a spin as usual then

Dammit! I was excited to use the word too

I didn't think he had a moral compass.

I was imagining it like a compass when you stick a magnet under it and it just spins and changes direction like crazy. seemed appropriate for that massive fucknut