Sharapova was a victim. Her lengthy ban from playing competitively came at the height of her career and destroyed it.

The fact is that she was not knowingly taking a banned substance but actually using a prescription drug provided by her doctors.

That drug was put on the banned list during the end of year hiatus and this caught out Sharapova. As soon as she realised she outed herself.

She was then used as a scapegoat to "set an example", not least I imagine because of some in the WTA hierarchy who didn't like the number of Russian women who were dominating women's tennis.

It is past time that the hysteria and nonsense over 'drugs' in sport was stopped. The reality is that you are guilty until proven innocent - that careers and reputations are destroyed, even if the athlete is subsequently cleared.

This drug paranoia also reflects that of power groups in government and society who are no more than hypocrites. The reality is that virtually the whole population is hooked on drugs of one sort or another and pharmaceutical companies one of the biggest and most influential forces in the World.

This notion that sports competitors must be untainted in any way is both irrational & impractical. Sport or certainly elite sport has been put on a pedestal in the same way as have been all manner of other people and concepts, such as religions, religious leaders, film stars, media personalities, the female body and etc.

In Australia this phenomenon has been extremely evident recently with the death of two cricketers. These were just men who made a living by playing a game and who happened to be very good at it. They contributed nothing essential to society and were no more or less deserving than the men who drive waste collection trucks, hold signs to control traffic around road-works in 35 degree heat, or those who put their lives on the line to protect. us from criminals.

It is time we, as a society and as societies, stopped this inane reverence and outrageously large reward for those who basically have the good fortune and talent to fund their lives by doing what they love. That, of itself, ought to be enough of a privilege.

I admire many who have achieved elite status or fame in various areas but I cannot accept that they are worth hundreds or thousands of times the value placed on other, anonymous, unheralded human beings.