Tennis legend, John McEnroe expressed his disbelief regarding Maria Sharapova's claims that she was not aware that the drug she took was on a banned drug list. The former top professional tennis player also called her act was a "no-brainer".
John McEnroe, who became the greatest of all time sports athlete and a commentator, commented following the Russian professional tennis player, Maria Sharapova's positive drug test result on a meldonium drug. The said drug was newly added on the banned drug list which took effect on January, according to Reuters.
McEnroe went on to say that his ejection from the 1990 Australian Open was because he was unaware of a rule change. "Would be hard to believe that no one in her camp, the 25 or 30 people that work for her or Maria herself had no idea that this happened," McEnroe said on the Tennis Channel program on Saturday.
Twenty-eight year old, Sharapova is suspended for up to four years by the International Tennis Federation. Since the news of her banned drug intake broke out, a number of sponsorship had pulled out their contracts from her.
According to BBC News, the five-time Grand Slam explains she took meldonium for medical purposes for the past 10 years. She claims she failed to know that the said drug has been newly added on banned list of drugs this year. Meldonium is prescribed for patients with heart health problems.
The Tennis legend also contradict Andy Murray's stance regarding the issue, inciting, "taking a drug that has performance-enhancing qualities, even if legal, is wrong," to which McEnroe responded "like a no-brainer", Sporting News reported.
McEnroe also joked that Sharapova should only be banned for two years because she says she did it unknowingly. "If you don't grunt Maria, no suspension. If you continue to grunt, two years," the seven-time Grand Slams champion said.
Sharapova's case is likely to take up to three months, with potential recourse to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if the decision is contested.
