Silent Ban Discussion

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
I agree there are some holes. But how about Agassi's meth use in the 90s, no one knew about that.


That was like 15 years ago in an era that was much, much less computerized than now, before facebook or twitter and all those social networks that exist now. Much, much easier to hide anything then.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Or one who believes in the importance of actual proof.

This is all speculation at the moment. There might be enough info that this issue is worth discussing but certainly nowhere near enough evidence to make serious accusations.

Oh really? That is what they said about Armstrong. Nobody wanted to believe Armstrong doped but the rumors kept coming. Where there is smoke there is fire, unfortunately.
 

topsltennis

Semi-Pro
It was also widely rumored that Micheal Jordan received a 'silent ban' for gambling from the NBA and that's why he did the whole baseball thing.
 

Flash O'Groove

Hall of Fame
Let's not get started on the Soderling bandwagon. Mononucleosis is a serious illness that could end anyone's career. Don't compare the 2.

Mononucleosis is a serious illness that could end anyone's career, and for this reason it could be a good story to cover a silent ban. However I agree that the ATP could afford to publicly ban Soderling.
 
That was like 15 years ago in an era that was much, much less computerized than now, before facebook or twitter and all those social networks that exist now. Much, much easier to hide anything then.

Harder today, agreed, but not impossible. Lance did it for the longest time until his fellow teammates turned on him. Nadal's team is very tight, very beneficial, let's see how that plays out in time.
 

Flash O'Groove

Hall of Fame
That was like 15 years ago in an era that was much, much less computerized than now, before facebook or twitter and all those social networks that exist now. Much, much easier to hide anything then.

Internet as nothing to do with it. If someone privy to Agassi's drug abuse wanted to leak it, he could have done it just as easily as today. Newspapers existed already.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
If the federation is so corrupt to be silent about positive results why don't they just allow him to play as if nothing happened. It wouldn't arise suspicion and they and also the sponsors wouldn't lose revenue.


Because they have to have some sort of punishment system in place at the same time. They are caught between wanting to protect its biggest stars and making sure the sport of tennis is not tainted and trying to maintain some degree of vigilance especially with cases like Lance Armstrong looming over their shoulders. You think it is a coincidence that this is happening just as the full details of the Armstrong case have come out?
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
That was like 15 years ago in an era that was much, much less computerized than now, before facebook or twitter and all those social networks that exist now. Much, much easier to hide anything then.

It is just as easy now especially when you have the governing bodies of the sport and sponsors protecting their star players. Don't be naive. The only thing is they have to be careful now that the Armstrong case has just come to light and there is also the Operación Puerto trial which is supposedly taking place early in 2013. Wasn't Nadal's name supposedly on that list which was buried, meaning the Fuentes patient list?
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Much harder to do through traditional media outlets.


No it is not. In the Armstrong case there were French reporters I believe who reported a failed test and started to dig around and they were promptly quashed and threatened by Armstrong and the governing cycling bodies. No journalist is going to take a chance and report about this type of thing unless it is a done deal.
 

billnepill

Hall of Fame
Because they have to have some sort of punishment system in place at the same time. They are caught between wanting to protect its biggest stars and making sure the sport of tennis is not tainted and trying to maintain some degree of vigilance especially with cases like Lance Armstrong looming over their shoulders. You think it is a coincidence that this is happening just as the full details of the Armstrong case have come out?

Well yeah but silent ban would provoke speculation like that (no offence) more than anything.

The system in place gives credibility to the sport. Lance's case has to do with politics and it's obviously an abberation to the normal procedure otherwise he would have been caught much earlier.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Well yeah but silent ban would provoke speculation like that (no offence) more than anything.

The system in place gives credibility to the sport. Lance's case has to do with politics and it's obviously an abberation to the normal procedure otherwise he would have been caught much earlier.

The normal system in place does not apply when you are talking about the elite stars.
 

defrule

Professional
The issue is, if you crucify one of your biggest stars and end up killing the sport, is it really worth it?
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Oh whatever...

If Nadal is on a silent ban then Federer is bi-sexual.

Which scenario has more evidence of existence?
 

billnepill

Hall of Fame
Oh whatever...

If Nadal is on a silent ban then Federer is bi-sexual.

Which scenario has more evidence of existence?

Oh whatever

You either want to deflect from the original topic acknowledging the the legitimacy of the speculation or you would like to explore topics of your interest ( bi-sexuality)

Which scenario has more evidence of existence?
 

Clarky21

Banned
The most suspicious part of Nadal's time off is that he had just been tested when he was defeated by Lukas Rosol, a match he thought he would win and if Nadal had won he, would not have been tested after.

Also, Nadal now claims that he was getting injections in his knee before the match. I presume cortisone (a steriod), which would explain a positive test for steroid use. If he was on a silent ban I think it absurd that his cover story for why he couldn't play is the same cover story for a false positive test.

Lets not also forget Nadal's connection to the infamous doping doctor who supplied many Spanish cyclists. I certainly think there is good reason to suspect Nadal was on a silent ban, but we may never know (or maybe in a decade he'll write a memoir about it.).


You do not have any idea what you're talking about. Cortisone is NOT the same as peds. Unless you think cortisone contains testosterone. Shocking how little some of you know about this stuff yet still spout this garbage.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
When how does silent ban relate to that system? In my view it doesn't. That's my original point

Because they still have to have some system of punishment in place even for the biggest stars especially with everything going on now--i.e. Armstrong, Fuentes, etc., but they don't want to make that public and tarnish the sport. It is very simple really.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Stop trolling !:twisted:

Right, acusing Nadal of being on a silent ban is just honest debate and deserves to be put up for discussion :confused:

Psyche :twisted:

Some of you should be ashamed to make such acusations with no evidence!!!

Especially when it comes to one of the biggest names in the sport!
 

Clarky21

Banned
lol well Fed was what, 18-19 in 2000?

I think him maturing as a player and practicing helps. His technique on his groundies are much more improved when watching hte film. It just kind of shows how much he developed and matured.


So? I have seen *******s accuse Nadal of starting steroids when he only 14-15 years old.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Oh whatever

You either want to deflect from the original topic acknowledging the the legitimacy of the speculation or you would like to explore topics of your interest ( bi-sexuality)

Which scenario has more evidence of existence?

Beeotch, theres nothing legitimate about you and others' silent ban speculation! Its liable and slanderous!
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Right, acusing Nadal of being on a silent ban is just honest debate and deserves to be put up for discussion :confused:

Psyche :twisted:

Some of you should be ashamed to make such acusations with no evidence!!!

Especially when it comes to one of the biggest names in the sport!

Please, save it. We are way beyond that point now.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Please, save it. We are way beyond that point now.

Please save yourself from looking like a dumb *** or just being an ***!

You perpetrators of this crap really should watch your step.

Do you even realize what you're accusing in these various threads :confused:
 

billnepill

Hall of Fame
Beeotch, theres nothing legitimate about you and others' silent ban speculation! Its liable and slanderous!

Boy you are so afraid of this being true. Chillax it is not true but even it was you would still find some perfectly good reason to like Nadal :)

For the record I am against the theory. Read the posts. No need to act like know-it-all
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Right, acusing Nadal of being on a silent ban is just honest debate and deserves to be put up for discussion :confused:

Psyche :twisted:

Some of you should be ashamed to make such acusations with no evidence!!!

Especially when it comes to one of the biggest names in the sport!

This is not the only place that people doubt his silent ban or his injury claim is sincere. Look around and many fans felt the same. There's many athletes(eg Steve Nash) have far more severe injuries far than Nadal, but they return to the sport in a very short time, not 8 months.

However you call Fed a bi-sexual just to hijack the thread.
 

MasturB

Legend
Point being, if Rafa wasn't a huge star in tennis and sports in general, and didn't hold so many unbelievable records, he probably would've been publicly banned. Rafa is a huge draw no matter if you love him or hate him. He sells tickets. Odesnik does not. He's expendable and can be shown as an example to the public and rest of the tour about doping.

Barry Bonds everybody knew was doping. Everybody knew McGwire was doping also. Nobody cared because they're entertaining to watch. It's rumored that baseball blackballed Barry Bonds AFTER he broke the all-time homerun record, because if they did it before they'd speculate that baseball never wanted him to touch the record. Bonds was still a very good hitter his last season and could've easily become a DH in the AL somewhere but nobody wanted to sign him because of his baggage and perhaps because MLB told teams to not do it.


Is publicly punishing Rafa worth the cost of tarnishing the legacy of your sport? Tennis is at an all-time high in terms of popularity right now globally. It may not be a major sport in the USA but it's either the #1 or #2 sport in most major places around the world.

I cannot believe how some of you believe the ATP has too much integrity to do a silent ban. That's very naive. The NFL changes rules to protect its quarterbacks because quarterbacks sell tickets. The NBA changes its rules to benefit players. Fifa rigs stuff too.
 

Clarky21

Banned
Point being, if Rafa wasn't a huge star in tennis and sports in general, and didn't hold so many unbelievable records, he probably would've been publicly banned. Rafa is a huge draw no matter if you love him or hate him. He sells tickets. Odesnik does not. He's expendable and can be shown as an example to the public and rest of the tour about doping.

Barry Bonds everybody knew was doping. Everybody knew McGwire was doping also. Nobody cared because they're entertaining to watch. It's rumored that baseball blackballed Barry Bonds AFTER he broke the all-time homerun record, because if they did it before they'd speculate that baseball never wanted him to touch the record. Bonds was still a very good hitter his last season and could've easily become a DH in the AL somewhere but nobody wanted to sign him because of his baggage and perhaps because MLB told teams to not do it.


Is publicly punishing Rafa worth the cost of tarnishing the legacy of your sport? Tennis is at an all-time high in terms of popularity right now globally. It may not be a major sport in the USA but it's either the #1 or #2 sport in most major places around the world.

I cannot believe how some of you believe the ATP has too much integrity to do a silent ban. That's very naive. The NFL changes rules to protect its quarterbacks because quarterbacks sell tickets. The NBA changes its rules to benefit players. Fifa rigs stuff too.


Do you believe that Nadal is the only player that dopes on the entire ATP tour? Do you believe that none of the rest of the top 5 are doping(I think they all are), but that Nadal is the only one to ever get caught and silently banned? More than once while no other player is ever caught? This is just bs to the highest order.

And like I already said in another post; the doper's are ALWAYS ahead of the testing. Always. It would be rare for a player to test positive in the first place in order to placed on a mythical silent ban.
 

mattennis

Hall of Fame
The silent ban hypothesis is really, really weak.

Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Murray, Ferrer and all the rest, if they are taking anything, they are taking probably the very same things, all of them.

My guess is that Nadal is not feeling the desire, the thrilling of it all, and he is taking it slowly to be able to understand what he really wants at this stage of his life.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Do you believe that Nadal is the only player that dopes on the entire ATP tour? Do you believe that none of the rest of the top 5 are doping(I think they all are), but that Nadal is the only one to ever get caught and silently banned? More than once while no other player is ever caught? This is just bs to the highest order.

And like I already said in another post; the doper's are ALWAYS ahead of the testing. Always. It would be rare for a player to test positive in the first place in order to placed on a mythical silent ban.

But nobody is saying other players do not dope but the rumor is that Nadal did fail a drug test or two in the past if you have read other forums and tennis sites. You can't always believe what you read this is true, but if you look at everything combined it starts to make more sense. Nothing is impossible especially after the Armstrong case.
 

MasturB

Legend
Do you believe that Nadal is the only player that dopes on the entire ATP tour? Do you believe that none of the rest of the top 5 are doping(I think they all are), but that Nadal is the only one to ever get caught and silently banned? More than once while no other player is ever caught? This is just bs to the highest order.

And like I already said in another post; the doper's are ALWAYS ahead of the testing. Always. It would be rare for a player to test positive in the first place in order to placed on a mythical silent ban.

Well if they are doping, Nadal and Ferrer (and maybe Tsonga) look like the most obvious dopers.

Maybe Nadal got caught and the others aren't getting caught.

I just really find it hard to believe Fed would be doping. His game looks all natural. He doesn't grunt and try to hit maximum force on all of his shots like Rafa does. And despite what all his lovers say about how he doesn't look tired sometimes, I've seen him get fatigue several times against Rafa in particular. AO 2009 he ran out of gas. He doesn't make the mistake of trying to win every point like Rafa does. Fed knows when to let a ball go and move on to the next point. Rafa grinds the hell out of every point, and while that may work on clay, it's terrible for his knees on hardcourts.

Rafa's game would have him likely get injured moreso than Murray or Novak. Murray doesn't hit with as much power as Rafa, and he doesn't hit all sorts of contorted body angles on the run like Nadal does either. While his forehand isn't the prettiest, his backhand is very technically sound and his slices is as well. Remember you don't just take the drugs to become superman, you take drugs to recover faster and heal faster. You can make the case that Novak could be injury prone with how much he slides and splits, but he's certainly not a grinder like Rafa.
 
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Clarky21

Banned
But nobody is saying other players do not dope but the rumor is that Nadal did fail a drug test or two in the past if you have read other forums and tennis sites. You can't always believe what you read this is true, but if you look at everything combined it starts to make more sense. Nothing is impossible especially after the Armstrong case.


Rumors are not proof. And I already said that if Nadal has ever tested postive then the rest of them have too.
 

Clarky21

Banned
The silent ban hypothesis is really, really weak.

Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Murray, Ferrer and all the rest, if they are taking anything, they are taking probably the very same things, all of them.

My guess is that Nadal is not feeling the desire, the thrilling of it all, and he is taking it slowly to be able to understand what he really wants at this stage of his life.

Agreed on all counts.
 

Tony48

Legend
I never for a second believed that Nadal was currently serving a "silent ban". But if he doesn't compete at Roland Garros.....then that will definitely fuel speculation.
 

Clarky21

Banned
Well if they are doping, Nadal and Ferrer (and maybe Tsonga) look like the most obvious dopers.

Maybe Nadal got caught and the others aren't getting caught.

I just really find it hard to believe Fed would be doping. His game looks all natural. He doesn't grunt and try to hit maximum force on all of his shots like Rafa does. He doesn't make the mistake of trying to win every point like Rafa does. Fed knows when to let a ball go and move on to the next point. Rafa grinds the hell out of every point, and while that may work on clay, it's terrible for his knees.

Rafa's game would have him likely get injured moreso than Murray or Novak. Murray doesn't hit with as much power as Rafa, and he doesn't hit all sorts of contorted body angles on the run like Nadal does either. Remember you don't just take the drugs to become superman, you take drugs to recover faster and heal faster. You can make the case that Novak could be injury prone with how much he slides and splits, but he's certainly not a grinder like Rafa.

Sure. So you believe that Nadal would be the only caught, even though they are all probably taking close to the same things? Did you happen to see the immense jump in performance from a certain career #3 player who then went on to have the best season of this career after spending years as a weakling? Sorry, but if Nadal is getting caught then so are the others.


Oh, bs. Fed would benefit from dope too just the same as the rest of them. He is still beating guys much younger than he is who are all on the dope themselves. It's just ******* nonsense to think his game is too effortless to need peds. Fed can grind with the best of them when the need arises.

Sorry, but Eeyore has become more of a grinder than he ever used to be within the last 2 years. He made a complete turn around physically like I have never seen before. He is obviously doped up to his bugged out eyeballs. To believe Nadal is the only one who dopes is such crap I would have to think someone would have to be living in a cave all these years to believe it.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Rumors are not proof. And I already said that if Nadal has ever tested postive then the rest of them have too.

Rumors are not proof but as I have said, the rumors for years along with many other things all start to make some sense. And if rumors are not proof why do you keep insisting that the rumor about Djokovic doping is fact? You are part of the whole double standard here, you believe the players you dislike dope but not your favorites, that is silly. I agree with you that probably all the top players dope but again the focus right now is on Nadal's absence not Federer's or Djokovic's, you seem to be forgetting that crucial fact.
 

Clarky21

Banned
Rumors are not proof but as I have said, the rumors for years along with many other things all start to make some sense. And if rumors are not proof why do you keep insisting that the rumor about Djokovic doping is fact? You are part of the whole double standard here, you believe the players you dislike dope but not your favorites, that is silly. I agree with you that probably all the top players dope but again the focus right now is on Nadal's absence not Federer's or Djokovic's, you seem to be forgetting that crucial fact.


Wrong. I said that I believe ALL of the top players are doping, and that includes Nadal.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Wrong. I said that I believe ALL of the top players are doping, and that includes Nadal.

So then just focus on the facts at hand currently, and that is that Nadal is the one who has been missing in action, not Federer or Djokovic (even though they may be doped to the gills.)
 

MasturB

Legend
Sure. So you believe that Nadal would be the only caught, even though they are all probably taking close to the same things? Did you happen to see the immense jump in performance from a certain career #3 player who then went on to have the best season of this career after spending years as a weakling? Sorry, but if Nadal is getting caught then so are the others.

Are you referring to Novak? Novak had his best season ever at age 23-24. That's pretty much when Fed had his best year in 05-06 as well. Before that, Djokovic was making semis and finals as well (he made the USO final in 2007, and beat Roddick, Nadal, and Fed in Montreal it was?). Novak didn't just come out of nowhere, his game improved. His serve changed, he wasn't double faulting as much, and he was playing much smarter points. I always thought Novak had the game to be awesome even when Fed was beating up on him, I'm glad to see he put it together.


Oh, bs. Fed would benefit from dope too just the same as the rest of them. He is still beating guys much younger than he is who are all on the dope themselves. It's just ******* nonsense to think his game is too effortless to need peds. Fed can grind with the best of them when the need arises.

Fed doesn't "grind" anymore. He's using dropshots more frequently than ever, and it also coincides with the fact that he's serving better than he was before when he was a grinder in 2004-2007. I have almost all of Fed's major tournament matches on my harddrive. I've seen his natural progression. He can rally with Novak and Nadal, but he doesn't do it on every point like he used to do and smack the hell out of the ball. He beats younger guys because there are no real younger guys with the mental attitude or game to beat him right now. Raonic could beat him because his game is that big. Berdych always has hte potential to beat him but he has too many mental blocks. We all know Tomic's mental problems and brainfarts.



Sorry, but Eeyore has become more of a grinder than he ever used to be within the last 2 years. He made a complete turn around physically like I have never seen before. He is obviously doped up to his bugged out eyeballs. To believe Nadal is the only one who dopes is such crap I would have to think someone would have to be living in a cave all these years to believe it.

Again, I never said Nadal was the only one doping, but Nadal's game would induce him to dope more than the others because of how physical it is. You're assuming they all dope at the same rate. I am assuming Nadal potentially dopes more because of how taxing his style of tennis is to his body.

In bold quote
 

Clarky21

Banned
In bold quote


Well, Nadal won 3 slams and completed the career slam when he was 24 years old, and guess what the topic of conversation was around here? That he was doping, and the doping helped him increase his serve so he could win the USO. How is that any different from Eeyore? Oh, except that Nadal did not spend his entire career up until that point as a weakling who came out of nowhere to win 3 slams in one year and not lose a single match until June. Makes perfect sense to me.

And Fed does and can grind with the best of them. Sorry, but peds would help him just the same. And what about his younger years? I am sure he was on something then as well.

Eeyore grinds and plays more defense now than he ever did before. And lol at you saying that Nadal's style of play causes him to dope more than the others so therefore he deserves to be raked over the coals more than the others do because of it. :lol: Ridiculous.
 

powerangle

Legend
I'm not sure I'm quite ready to jump on the "silent ban" wagon just yet, but Rafa pulling out of the AO certainly is adding fuel to the fire.
 

wy2sl0

Hall of Fame
Well, Nadal won 3 slams and completed the career slam when he was 24 years old, and guess what the topic of conversation was around here? That he was doping, and the doping helped him increase his serve so he could win the USO. How is that any different from Eeyore? Oh, except that Nadal did not spend his entire career up until that point as a weakling who came out of nowhere to win 3 slams in one year and not lose a single match until June. Makes perfect sense to me.

And Fed does and can grind with the best of them. Sorry, but peds would help him just the same. And what about his younger years? I am sure he was on something then as well.

Eeyore grinds and plays more defense now than he ever did before. And lol at you saying that Nadal's style of play causes him to dope more than the others so therefore he deserves to be raked over the coals more than the others do because of it. :lol: Ridiculous.

Come on man, you can't possibly believe that *if* Fed doped it would be anywhere near the amount that Rafa would. I am not naive and stupid, if one dopes they all more than likely dope.

However if there was one who didn't, I do believe it is Fed. You could really start the floodgates by comparing the generation before where Fed was cleaning up to the new generation which is possibly almost all on PED's. The thing is what Fed does great does not require PED's. He is by far the most talented player playing now, and the most ever by a small but significant margin. The rest all use a variety of pushing and grinding to win slams, period.
 

mistik

Hall of Fame
Come on man, you can't possibly believe that *if* Fed doped it would be anywhere near the amount that Rafa would. I am not naive and stupid, if one dopes they all more than likely dope.

However if there was one who didn't, I do believe it is Fed. You could really start the floodgates by comparing the generation before where Fed was cleaning up to the new generation which is possibly almost all on PED's. The thing is what Fed does great does not require PED's. He is by far the most talented player playing now, and the most ever by a small but significant margin. The rest all use a variety of pushing and grinding to win slams, period.

Dont be funny Fed is nearly 32 years old,he is grandfather for professional sports and the only reason he still good is he DOPES.Talent means nothing if you cant move well and if you dont have the stamina and power in todays tennis.He DOPES just like Agassi used to do in his late career.
 
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bullfan

Legend
Well if they are doping, Nadal and Ferrer (and maybe Tsonga) look like the most obvious dopers.

Maybe Nadal got caught and the others aren't getting caught.

I just really find it hard to believe Fed would be doping. His game looks all natural. He doesn't grunt and try to hit maximum force on all of his shots like Rafa does. And despite what all his lovers say about how he doesn't look tired sometimes, I've seen him get fatigue several times against Rafa in particular. AO 2009 he ran out of gas. He doesn't make the mistake of trying to win every point like Rafa does. Fed knows when to let a ball go and move on to the next point. Rafa grinds the hell out of every point, and while that may work on clay, it's terrible for his knees on hardcourts.

Rafa's game would have him likely get injured moreso than Murray or Novak. Murray doesn't hit with as much power as Rafa, and he doesn't hit all sorts of contorted body angles on the run like Nadal does either. While his forehand isn't the prettiest, his backhand is very technically sound and his slices is as well. Remember you don't just take the drugs to become superman, you take drugs to recover faster and heal faster. You can make the case that Novak could be injury prone with how much he slides and splits, but he's certainly not a grinder like Rafa.

I believe that if any of the top 4 are taking anything, then they all are taking something. Fed included. I would tend to think that there would be more epo for recovery. I wonder if you think that Nadal has no knee issues? It seems a bit contradictory that he plays a grinding style that would be conducive to injury and bam he claims to be injured. And lets face it Nadal has normally gotten burned out by the end of the year due to his crappy scheduling.
 
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