Coming Full Circle

(Disclaimer: I’m an unapologetic Andre Agassi fan. His rise to fame on the professional tennis scene in the mid to late 1980s encapsulates my earliest tennis memories. Not only did I have his signature shoe from Nike, but all the men in my immediate family did as well).

Andre Agassi was never shy around cameras during his years as one of tennis’ brightest stars, and he isn’t shy with the media as a recent retiree. Agassi, whose book Open hits bookstores this week, has stirred the pot by laying all of his cards on the table in the autobiography.

The book starts with Andre’s childhood, he details his relationship with his maniacal father, before delving into his rise as a teen superstar and top five player by age eighteen. Most of the attention coming of out the book’s release has centered on two particular admissions. First, there’s the stunner that Agassi recreationally used crystal meth during the worst year of his professional career in 1997, and then lied to the ATP about it. Secondly, Agassi admits that he tanked matches during his career, notably the 1996 Australian Open semi-final against Michael Chang.

In coming clean in such a public manner, Agassi is risking his good name. Rafael Nadal slammed his admissions, saying that they “damaged the game” of tennis. For anyone else, admitting to drug use and a lack competitive integrity would normally be public relations disasters, but Andre Agassi is as a unique individual that you’ll find in all of sports.

At his peak, it was all about Andre. Image was everything. Over the last decade, however, Agassi went from spoiled celebrity to content professional, parent, and husband. Andre Agassi is one of the few athletes in the modern generation that “gets it.” He’s donated millions of dollars to charity while founding a school in his hometown of Las Vegas that helps underprivileged youth go to college at an astounding 100% rate.

The beauty of Agassi’s confession is that he is doing it for the right reasons. If you think the most visible star of a global sport needs the money or attention that comes with releasing a tell-all, you’re beyond reproach.

Agassi chose to come forward about his life because he feels that showing people that we all have struggles in our day-to-day lives will help individuals take control of their own lives. Andre is all about helping people, and his book is another forum to do just that. Image isn’t everything after all.