Endless lies…conspiracy theories…deep-rooted corruption…a victim of ill-fated judgment…
In the middle of these arguments, lies the TRAGIC story of a player
whose current situation highlights some of the complexities of professional sports.
The drama surrounding Simona Halep’s doping allegations brings with it a lot of questions
but not many answers. What is the ACTUAL Truth? So, it’s no longer news that Simona Halep might
have to face a 4-year ban from tennis on the charges of doping and athlete biological data
discrepancies. But I discovered that many tennis fans actually have a flawed backstory
surrounding the whole drama, which is why we want to address it right away.
Following an in-competition doping test that was done on August 29th,
2022 at the beginning of the US Open, a urine sample was taken from Simona Halep
and it would later be discovered that her urine contained a banned substance called Roxadustat.
Now, Roxadustat is legitimately used in the medical treatment of anemia and it
works by stimulating the production of EPO (Erythropoietin), which increases
the hemoglobin content in the blood and delivers more oxygen to the tissues. As you would expect,
this results in a better performance if an athlete takes this substance. There are certain cases
where an athlete can use this banned substance but it has be in accordance with a “Therapeutic
Use Exemption”. Now, this has caused a lot of back-and-forth in sports because you could
literally just cook up an excuse to use these substances and claim that it is for a medical
“condition”. It is why players like Andy Murray weighed in on the situation and requested for a
system to be put in place so that nobody abuses these substances. The Scot previously criticized
Maria Sharapova and Marin Cilic for failing drug tests after taking banned substances and he also
called for all exemptions to be made public. It’s because of things like this that made a
few fans to believe Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal were also guilty of doping because after
some Russian hackers broke into the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) database and
released confidential data on 29 athletes, it was revealed that Serena had been on steroids
for Therapeutic usage for many years during her career. So, what were the health problems for
which Williams received the TUEs? Well, that’s a story for another day. Do you remember when
former top 10 player Fernando Verdasco was given a two-month suspension after failing a drug test,
saying that he “forgot” to renew his Therapeutic use exemption when it expired? I probably wouldn’t
beat Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner even if I pumped myself up with Performance enhancing
drugs but when you consider the fact that the players who use these drugs are already athletes
competing at the highest level, you begin to understand that it makes a lot of difference.
Roxadustat Charge A 126-page document was
released upon the Independent Tribunal’s unanimous decision following a 2-day hearing in London in
June 2023 and we will get into it shortly. Unfortunately for Halep, she didn’t have
any Therapeutic Use Exemption allowing her to use Roxadustat. However, she claimed innocence on the
account that she had absolutely no idea she was ingesting a banned substance. To be fair, that’s
a possibility. But here’s where things get really complicated. Halep, represented by her lawyers,
would then argue that although Roxadustat improved performances in middle and long-distance runners,
it wasn’t significant for a tennis player at her level. They literally said that oxygen and
cardiovascular strength didn’t matter in tennis? Sounds really strange. There was
also grounds for argument that Halep’s sample was probably contaminated from a Keto MCT supplement
which she had used back in August 2022. Having been provisionally suspended from
all tennis competition since October 7th, 2022, Halep applied multiple times for the ban to be
lifted but to no avail. She also let us know on her social media that this would be the hardest
fight of her life and that she would fight to the end because she has never thought about
cheating. Halep subsequently received a lot of support from fellow professionals and fans. But
let’s now get to the juiciest part of the story. Fast forward to a couple of months later and we
would then see witness statements filed on Halep’s behalf from 4 people including
her coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Darren Cahill. We’ll come back to this as well.
So, Halep has been working with Patrick Mouratoglou since March 2021 and she moved
to his academy in France later that year. Upon the 2022 tennis season, we saw her struggle with heat,
humidity, and nasal problems at the Citi Open in Washington DC. After that,
she was given some TUE to help her with her nasal problems. Her physiotherapist,
Candice Gohier, who happened to be part of Mouratoglou’s team would then recommend adding
a collagen supplement to her nutrition, which is the Keto MCT. It’s not like an
over-the-counter supplement. She actually had to order it from a Canadian-based company.
Based on that recommendation, Halep started taking these supplements but not after repeatedly asking
the Mouratoglou team if they were safe to use. Halep then checked the container and saw no banned
substances on the label. She also confirmed again with Mouratoglou himself and he gave the go-ahead
so to say. She then took the supplements before the US open and after her first-round loss,
Halep decided to undergo a nasal surgery to correct her breathing problems. With the surgery,
Halep effectively ended her 2022 tennis season and was looking towards a comeback
in 2023. A comeback that didn’t quite happen. When Halep’s test results came out positive
for Roxadustat, she would then deny its usage saying that it would have even interfered with
her recovery from surgery. Things are starting to get interesting at this point until a little
weird observation comes to light. Why did Simona Halep not include the Keto MCT supplement in her
Doping Control Form? And why didn’t she also mention it in her Interview with the ITIA on
October 26th 2022? I mean, if you were wrongfully accused of taking a banned substance; wouldn’t
you empty the bucket offering every possible substance you ingested in the hope that one
might explain the mishap? Why withhold anything? Hmmm… To answer that question, Halep said that she
“forgot” to do so on both occasions. Things aren’t adding up at this point, but what happens next?
In Mouratoglou’s statement, he essentially vouched for Halep’s honesty while Darren
Cahill who coached Halep from March 2015 to September 2021 simply made a character reference
stating that Halep was a clean professional with integrity and impeccable character. Meanwhile,
the ITIA’s expert witnesses came with reports in evidence worth hundreds of pages basically trying
to prove that Halep was guilty. At the end of the day, all roads would lead to another question.
If Halep’s Keto MCT was contaminated with Roxadustat, then scientists should be able
to correlate the quantity found in her urine with what was in the supplement right? Not to bore you
with too much science, a series of tests were carried out and it was discovered that the Keto
MCT supplement could not account for the entire concentration of the Roxadustat found in Halep’s
sample. According to them, she literally would have needed to ingest those supplements thousands
of times to get the level of Roxadustat found in her body. What does that mean? There was likely
another source which she ingested and she would now be faced with the burden of proof to prove
that that was also accidental, which she hasn’t been able to do. So, how can it then be proven
that she is innocent of this charge? Anyone? Let’s now get into the details of the
second charge. The ABP Charge
The Athlete Biological Passport program records values of your blood samples that are known to be
sensitive to changes in red blood cell production. So basically, you can tell if there’s a period
of discrepancy which could suggest doping. All 3 doctors who analyzed one of Halep’s blood samples
at the time unanimously agreed that their findings meant that Halep was “likely doping.” Halep’s
defense of course questioned the reliability of those findings. They also stated that Halep had
lost blood during surgery and her lack of training after would have also affected the results.
But with the experts having a high degree of confidence that there was no innocent
explanation for Halep’s ABP profile, the charge was upheld. It was also stated that
although there were suspicious markers between 2014 and 2017, there was not enough evidence
to prove it. The ITIA further submitted that due to aggravating circumstances,
they could increase Halep’s ban from 4 to 6 years. The issue of disqualification of her results and a
financial penalty was also brought to the fore. But I have one question. If in their report,
the experts said Halep was “likely doping,” how is that being judged as “guilty” if it wasn’t proven
beyond reasonable doubt or am I missing something? Also, since this banned substance could have
triggered the biological discrepancies seen in Simona Halep’s passport, should it really be
considered a separate offense? Now, let’s go down the rabbit hole on some of the common narratives
that we’ve been seeing about Simona Halep. Narratives
Narrative: Halep should just come out clean and admit what she did. She’s a crook who got busted.
Answer: If you are in the school of thought, I honestly understand your point of view and it is
valid because as an athlete, you are responsible for what goes into your body and the rules are
what they are. Also, the evidence against her is quite significant. But I have one question
for you. Seeing how everything played out, is it possible that Halep actually didn’t know she was
taking banned substances seeing that they were given to her? If you think that there’s a slight
chance that she’s innocent, then maybe we need to look at some other perspectives before coming to a
conclusion, which leads us to the next narrative. Narrative: Simona trusted the wrong people. There
is something about Patrick Mouratoglou and his team which is disturbing.
Answer: This is yet another valid line of thought because in reality,
Mouratoglou’s team was responsible for handing her the supplements and they should have known better.
Back in November 2023, Mouratoglou admitted that he felt responsible for the whole situation and
we found out that Halep had not spoken to him for months. (Link). Seeing that Halep
became a two-time grand slam champion and was the world number 1 for 64 weeks under Darren Cahill,
you can’t help but think that she might have made the wrong decision leaving Cahill who had coached
her for 6 years. I mean, look what he’s done with Jannik Sinner. The truth is that I can’t blame
anyone who is pissed off by the Mouratoglou team seeing their involvement in the whole situation.
Although Mouratoglou released this statement shortly after Halep got hit with the ban,
there isn’t too much to make out of it. Former world WTA no. 1 Kim Clijsters accused Mouratoglou
of manipulation and really, you sometimes wonder if there is any institutional punishment for his
role in Simona Halep’s ban. Here are Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters’ takes on the Mouratoglou-Halep
situation. Moving on to the next narrative. Narrative: Why would Simona Halep start doping
now? She has been a top player for so long. Answer: Having been a top player for close
to a decade, many fans believe that Halep has no reason to start doping in her 30s.
But counterarguments to this say that she has always been a cheat and that the 2019 Wimbledon
final she won against Serena Williams was a case in point. And when Serena Williams then posted
this cryptic message (tweet), saying that 8 was a better number, we all knew that the pot was
getting stirred all the more. I’ve seen references being made to Lance Armstrong who was banned from
professional cycling and I’ve also seen fans attributing this doping situation to Halep’s
win-at-all-cost mentality, saying that after all she underwent a breast reduction surgery
just to compete at the highest level, so that essentially means she could also do anything.
The arguments further suggest that Halep’s career was at a downward curve following
her mental breakdown in 2021 which made her consider retirement. She then had a calf injury,
a panic attack in the middle of her second round match at the 2022 French Open,
a divorce following a marriage that lasted less than a year, and that all of these could have
factored into making her consider doping as she clearly struggled on the court between 2021 and
2022 and had an uncharacteristically chaotic moment in her life, which could have made
her desperate. My response to this is. WOW. These theories are endless. But there’s more.
Narrative: Simona Halep is being picked apart. Why 4 years? What about others who doped and
were given much lesser punishments? Answer: To address this narrative,
we have to look at a number of players who were faced with doping situations.
Back in 1997, Andre Agassi returned a positive drug test for the use of methamphetamine. A
3-month suspension from tennis was handed down but not formally after Agassi blamed the positive
result on a spiked drink. Agassi would later reveal in his Autobiography in 2009 that he
lied about the whole situation and following his admission, no formal case was opened against him.
In 2009, Richard Gasquet returned a positive drug result for cocaine use but denied intentional
use of the drug, saying that he may have been exposed to the substance after kissing a lady
at a Miami nightclub. Initially handed a one-year ban, Gasquet would see his
ban being reduced to 6 weeks. In both of these cases, these players used “recreational drugs”
and not “performance-enhancing drugs.” Similarly, Martina Hingis was handed a two-year suspension
from tennis with a forfeiture of her world ranking and a fine exceeding $120,000 after a substance
related to cocaine was found in her sample. We also have Marin Cilic whose 9-month ban was
reduced to 4 months in 2013 after he returned a positive drug test for the substance nikethamide,
which helps to increase blood flow and oxygen in the body. That same year,
we saw Viktor Troicki being suspended for 1 year after he refused to partake
in a mandatory test carried out by the ITF. And then we have the famous Maria Sharapova
doping case where she admitted to using a drug named meldonium. Her 2-year ban would
then be subsequently reduced to 15 months. In Sharapova’s case, the substance had only been
recently banned which played a role in seeing her suspension reduced, yet it took the Court
of Arbitration for Sport 8 months to reach that final decision. In 2019, we saw Beatriz Haddad
Maia get suspended for 10 months and around that same period, we saw Nicholas Jarry get suspended
for almost a year. More recently, we saw American Jenson Brooksby get an 18-month suspension after
missing 3 doping tests. But his ban would then be reduced to 13 months. There are many other tennis
players who have also been faced with suspensions. So why is Halep’s treatment much
more severe than the others? After several delays and postponements
for her hearing multiple times, the decision was upheld on September 12th 2023 since then,
we've seen Halep receive lots of support from the Professional Tennis Players Association
and legendary players like Chris Evert, Boris Becker, and Alex Corretja. It has been revealed
that two experts allegedly changed their initial opinions about Halep’s AB passport when they found
out they were dealing with Halep specifically. Any idea why that might be because if it’s true,
then it is deeply concerning and could possibly represent real corruption.
Appealing to the CAS is Halep's last legal chance to see the doping ban lifted, or shortened for
the 32-year-old and having presented her case in Lausanne, Switzerland, after almost 3 days
of hearing from February 7th to 9th, 2024, we await a decision. But I want to believe that a
4-year suspension in this case seems quite harsh putting a number of factors into consideration.
Another thought comes to mind. What is expected of the WTA in situations like this and is there
anything they could do differently in the Halep situation? Let’s also talk about the complex
world of antidoping for a second. The Complex World of Anti-Doping
So, we know that the anti-doping structure has a zero-tolerance policy,
which essentially means that if a substance is in your sample, you are responsible no matter
how it got there. But when you take a look at the prohibited list, you discover that as an average
athlete you most likely don’t really know about many things you should be taking or shouldn’t be
because it just looks like one generic list. Top players should know better however, since they
mostly have a team of professionals around them. Also, how far has research gone into showing the
extent to which tiny concentrations of these banned substances affect performance. Have
all of these substances actually been thoroughly researched? How many prevalence studies have we
actually seen? Putting all of this into context, can you officially say with 100% certainty that
you have suspended a player for 4 years in good faith? Tough one I suppose but it’s not even like
we have any alternative if we want a clean sport. Honestly, I consider the Simona Halep situation a
really strange case and I can’t fully wrap my head around every single thing going on. Where
do we go from here? Future Outlook
With a dark cloud hanging over the Romanian’s career, Halep no doubt finds
herself in a difficult situation. Even if she successfully sees a reduction in her suspension,
what about the stigma and damage to her reputation and how do you see the Hall of Fame handling
the situation? It’s possible that we might not see Halep play tennis again until October 2026
when she’ll be 35 years old and although she has vowed to continue fighting till the end,
the future doesn’t look so great at this point but we can only wish her the best.
The Romanian has now launched an £8 million, which is around a $10 million claim against
Quantum Nutrition, the company she blames for her drugs ban. It was stated in the complaint
that Halep should be awarded at trial for loss of past and future income and earning capacity,
as well as “past and future pain, suffering and humiliation” as
well as “loss of enjoyment of life.” CNN reached out to Quantum Nutrition
as well as Halep’s attorneys for comment. The Canadian company based in Scarborough in Ontario,
did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But back in October last year,
John Koveos, the founder of the company said that “Halep was seeking a scapegoat
and that they needed somebody to blame” The founder claimed that hundreds of athletes use
the company’s products and that Halep “was not the only athlete using that particular product
on that particular day” at the tournament. He however, didn’t mention the names of the others.
Honestly, I’ve barely touched on this subject as it would be impossible to go through every fact,
perspective, and argument in such a short video. Also, since I don’t consider myself an expert when
it comes to the complexities of doping, the aim here is for us tennis fans to present arguments
with FACTS, doing so in a respectful way that we all can learn something from this situation
in a sort of peer-to-peer review because at the end of the day, it’s easy to shout opinions say
someone is a cheater or a victim but a lot harder to look at the story from all angles.