Take a moment and ponder this comment from Dick Pound and its indirect subject: Maria Sharapova.
"If you are running a $30 million a year sole proprietorship, I'm sorry you damn well make sure that you don't do anything that makes you ineligible."
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So there you have Sharapova, five-time winner of the world's biggest tennis tournaments; renowned for her beauty as much as her performance; rich and powerful and talented and, reportedly, intelligent.
Here's the hammer hitting the nail regarding this week's disclosure that Sharapova failed a drug test at the Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova is either the world's most beloved drug cheat or the world's most clueless multimillion-dollar athlete. — Christine Brennan, USA Today
The world appears to be collapsing around Sharapova. For 10 years she used a drug called meldonium and also known as mildronate. According to her lawyer, she didn't use it every day and followed her doctor's advice. She took it, she told media members on Monday, to combat magnesium deficiencies, questionable heart monitor readings and family history of diabetes.
Consider this from Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated:
No sooner did Sharapova step to the podium and name the drug, meldonium, did I start receiving emails questioning her claims. (One prominent sports science expert warned me, "Not in a million years would she be taking that to stave off diabetes. That's ridiculous.")
MORE: Notorious drug cheats | Big unknown? When — if — Sharapova plays again
There's another disturbing story out there about the original intent of meldonium use. According to Wired.com, the Latvian drug maker's intent was for it to be used by Soviet super soldiers.
"If the soldiers are to operate in the mountains, there's a lack of oxygen," Ivar Kalvins, chair of the scientific board of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, said in the Wired article. "The way to protect against damage is by using mildronate."
In the name of Captain America and his pal the Winter Soldier, why would Sharapova and reportedly hundreds of other Russian athletes use this drug?
Mildronate increases blood flow. It has other uses, obviously, and national medical officials say many are legitimate. In sports, not so much: Athletes, after all, are held to different standards than Mr. or Mrs. Average.
MORE: Nike cuts ties | Sharapova through the years
Mildronate was put on the list of banned substances starting on Jan. 1. The World Anti-doping Agency, or WADA, said it discovered "evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance." The ban was announced in October. Sharapova, media reports said, received several email notifications of the prohibition. Four emails were sent in December, according to the Times of London.
Her defence? She didn't read the emails.
OK, remember, Sharapova has hordes of handlers, including at least one lawyer and one doctor. None of Sharapova's people told her about the mildronate ban.
Welcome to Denmark, where something is rotten.
Facing a lengthy suspension from tennis, knowing several of her sponsors have withdrawn their support, and with her body wearing down from years in her sport, Sharapova is likely done for the foreseeable future as a tennis star. Her looks and personality will keep her employed … after all, look how long Anna Kournikova stayed in the picture. And Kournikova was nowhere near as successful on the court as Sharapova.
Sharapova's mea culpa continues to be dissected, and her fate will be determined on merits of her case. Her ignorance of the law is no excuse. Especially given the massive resources available to Sharapova — who according to Forbes is the world's highest-paid female athlete.
Consider this, also from Forbes:
"The challenge for Sharapova in a Twitter era is all the headlines say she failed a drug test and many will not read the fine print to understand the details. She will have to continue to message that correctly." — David Schwab, branding expert, marketing firm Octagon
Sharapova's story, fishy as it is, will get more spin than her shots on the court. The outcome likely won't be pretty.