You Can't Make THIS Up

Who is Richard Gasquet, and what is he doing in this blog? In case you're not a tennis fan, Gasquet is a French tennis player who a few years ago was ranked as high as number 7 in the world.

Two months ago, Gasquet tested positive for cocaine, and faced a ban from the International Tennis Federation of up to two years. However, in the "Strange But True" category, the ITF believed Gasquet's defense.

It seems that the admittedly hard partying Gasquet was in a London nightclub when he kissed a girl he knew only as "Pamela." According to Gasquet, during the smooch "Pamela" "contaminated" (the official report's word) the Frenchman with the drug. The ITF believes that Gasquet's a man of good character: the case unusual "to the point of being unique."

Gasquet's other argument:He wasn't competing at the time of the drug test because of a shoulder injury. Cocaine is ONLY a banned substance for COMPETING players. Huh??? That seems fishy to me.

Maybe Manny Ramirez could have used that excuse. He wasn't on the field or at plate when he tested positive for PED's and served a 50 game suspension. He was in a men's room submitting a urine sample

Accidental or not, athletes, like all adults, have to keep tabs on what's going into their bodies. There's no report that Gasquet went running to a hospital or his own doctor saying, "Oh, no, what did I just swallow?!" It happens all the time: Celebrities escaping trouble because of their celebrity. This case is just a bit more ridiculous.