Yannick Noah: Why We Should Defend His Remarks on Performance-Enhancing Drugs

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at Internationaled.org

Published: November 26, 2011

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Yannick Noah has always been a maverick, someone who walks, sometimes dances, to the beat of a different drum.  He was a fun-loving, flashy figure on the tennis court and remains just as vibrant off of it.  In 1981, Noah infamously admitted to using marijuana, while insisting that amphetamines were the real culprit because they are actually performance enhancing. 

A week ago, Noah rattled the proverbial hornet’s nest when he expressed some controversial sentiments to the French paper Le Monde about the relatively recent successes of Spanish players.

Their "overnight" successes in the sport seemed to baffle Noah.  He felt that some of them maybe had access to that Hogwarts cabinet with the "magic potions" that enhanced their powers.   

In tragic comparison, the French were "dwarfed" by these enhanced southwestern neighbors.  Now at this particular anecdote, one can’t help but crack a slight smile because it’s hard to see how someone, anyone, could “dwarf" hulking French superhumans like Tsonga or Monfils. 

Soon after these Noah comments were made, one high-profile and irate Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, responded, lambasting him for "stupidity".  Later, David Ferrer joined the fray and most of the media seemed to dismiss Noah just as quickly. 

People pointed out that certain isolated problems do not justify the entirety of Noah’s comments.  That his words were offered without thought about the majority of non-conspirators, or so the argument goes. 



Were Yannick Noah’s comments in poor taste? 

The problem often pointed out is that a sweeping generalization can stigmatize an entire nation.  We may, in poor taste, say that one particular nation seems too adept at exporting terror and radicalism. 

But what of the many innocents in that nation who do not want to...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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