People reports that tennis legend Andre Agassi reveals past crystal meth usage in the late 1990s in his new memoir entitled Open. “I can’t speak to addiction, but a lot of people would say that if you’re using anything as an escape, you have a problem,” he told People. In addition to drug use, Open describes his hair loss, troubled marriage to Brooke Shields and eventually meeting his current wife Steffi Graf. Random House publishes the book on Nov. 9; excerpts appear in this week’s People and Sports Illustrated.
Oct 27
2009
08:39 PM ET
Report: Andre Agassi reveals past crystal meth use in new memoir
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Somethings you just don’t want to know
I agree. I could have lived my whole life without knowing that Andre Agassi did meth
I agree — I really didn’t need to know about Agassi’s drug related experiences… I am sick of all the celebrity tell alls… so over it….
Wow, this is pretty classless from one of my favorite champions ever. I’m really disappointed that he would choose to sell out like this. If he really wanted to share the meth story to help people or whatever reason he gives, he didn’t have to do it in effort to make profit. It’s trashy.
Not you Andre!!
i wonder if it adversely affected his play. did he win any majors while on meth? so weird, and so dumb on his part (yea he was addicted yada yada yada).
I was wondering the same thing. Having never done Meth myself I don’t know how it really effects you. I remember David Silver did it to stay up all night- maybe it gives you energy?
I checked, he didn’t win anything in 97
Nope. ’97 was the year he was playing on the Challenger tour. His career picked back up again in ’98. I’d assume he had stopped by this point, because that’s when he hooked up with his fitness guru, Gil Reyes. I wouldn’t think that crystal meth is conducive to high intensity endurance workouts, so I’d assume that he stopped by this point.
I still have great respect for Agassi the player, and the elder statesman of the game he evolved into. It was uncool to dabble in such a dangerous substance, but he’s human. He made a mistake and clearly learned from it.
Uncool, Andre. Very uncool. From what I’ve gathered, he did it in 1997 – while his marriage was falling apart and his ranking was in the toilet. Still… very uncool.
Clearly, crystal meth is the new cocaine, and anyone who tried it even once will reveal it in an effort to stay/become relevant. Soooo over this.
It is really sad to hear this. He is kind of an idiot for making this information public. No one will ever look at him the same way again.
This guy is soooo over-rated!
Let’s go Pete! Tee-hee!
Wow, all of you guys must be perfect.
I don’t feel any different about him. In fact, I may be a bigger fan *now*.
Glad he’s making it public. It’s a particularly nasty addiction and if one can find their way out of it before it’s too late? Good for them.
It’s the fact that he will profit off this that pisses people off. If he were to volunteer his time to speak on the issue to help others with addiction, it’s one thing. To write it in a “tell-all” book is a completely different issue. No one on this site has claimed to be perfect. Nor did anyone assume Agassi was. But for him to announce it so nonchalantly in a book which he’ll score millions from is tasteless.
How does admitting a mistake made over a decade ago make you unlikeable? I’m a way different person than I was 10 years ago and better equipped for the world by learning from those mistakes. I’m not proud of my actions, but I’m proud that I can admit mistakes were made- Proud to be honest.
I’m truly supportive of Agassi’s decision to be all-inclusive. It’s real life.
People are quick to judge. The world is not black and white. A memoir is what happened to your life, not an embellishment of just the “good times”. I guess I still prefer my heroes to be slightly flawed.
I too, am surprised at all the negative comments on here. If Andre discussing the effects crystal meth had on his life will stop ONE person from doing it, good for him. I don’t see that as “selling out”.
This man has given a LOT of underprivileged kids a great education when he didn’t have to. He has saved THOUSANDS of people and impacted multiple generations. I’m interested in the sum of the man, not just one part. As far as I am concerned, he is one of the great ones.
Thanks for writing this starchild! I was shocked by all of the negative comments here and am so happy that you have recognized all of the work he has done with education!
Grow up, people. He’s human and he made a mistake. You haven’t even read the book. As long as he doesn’t say that meth is great and everyone should try it, who is he hurting? So what if he profits from it? Agassi is one of the world’s leading philanthropists and chances are that a significant chunk of the profit will go to this foundation. Don’t be so quick to judge.
Exactly! Andre Agassi gives a ton of his money and time to charity and has for many years.
People shouldn’t judge him or the book until they’ve read it. He’s not doing it for money — he and Steffi Graf have plenty of that.