Nick Kyrgios indulged in a heated discussion with an Andy Murray fan and tennis journalist Scott Barclay, who called the Aussie out for ‘casting’ his judgment on the Jannik Sinner doping saga. Kyrgios called the verdict ‘ridiculous’ and claimed that the Italian should be given a two-year ban.
Sinner tested positive for Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, during the Indian Wells this year. However, the ITIA found less than a billionth of a gram in his sample, which was deemed not performance-enhancing, and also agreed that the Italian consumed the substance by accident.
The World No. 1 argued that the drug may have entered via the bare-handed massages by his physio Giacomo Naldi, who exposed him to the substance via a healing spray.
The news sent shockwaves across the tennis fraternity and left the fans divided on the verdict which came out of nowhere. Nick Kyrgios voiced his dismay at the verdict on X (formerly Twitter),
“Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice,” Kyrgios tweeted.
Scott Barclay, a renowned tennis personality and a popular Andy Murray fan joked about how Kyrgios was one of the players speaking out against Sinner.
“‘OMG, all of Jannik Sinner’s peers are speaking out against him’ and then you look at who it is and it’s fucking Nick Kyrgios,” Barclay wrote.
Nick Kyrgios responded how Barclay was a lifelong Andy Murray fan, who was a big advocate for doping tests and being clean. He told Barclay that he should be on his side rather than against him.
“You d riding Murray your whole life you should also be on this side of things. Murray was for more doping tests and being clean.”
“Andy Murray never did drugs and also never assaulted a woman” – Scott Barclay claps back at Nick Kyrgios
Scott Barclay clapped back at Nick Kyrgios and listed out how Andy Murray never did drugs or assaulted a woman, alluding to the Aussie’s domestic abuse where he was he was charged by ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari for assault.
The Murray fan then listed that his point wasn’t to prove Kyrgios wrong, but rather that he wasn’t really the paragon of virtue himself.
“Murray never did drugs and also never assaulted a woman, Nick. My point isn’t that your opinion is wrong, rather you’re perhaps not the best person to cast judgement.”
Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill cleared the air regarding the whole saga in an interview with ESPN. He stressed on the fact that the Italian didn’t consume the substance knowingly and had suffered through this the most.
