The alleged poisoning of tennis opponents shows how far pushy parents can go, writes Liam Reid
This weekend the inhabitants of Dax, a small town in south-western France, are in shock. One man is dead, at least two teenagers may have been poisoned and a respected father of two is in jail. And it has all been in the name of tennis.
The small community now finds itself at the centre of an international debate about parents, and the dangerous lengths they can go to in order to further their children's sporting careers.
The pushy sports parent in this case is Christophe Fauviau, the father of two talented tennis players. His daughter, 13-year-old Valentine, ranks as the best female player in France in her age group and is seen as a future international star. Her older brother, Maxime (16), is regarded as a good regional player. Neither child was aware of their father's actions.
Fauviau was arrested last Sunday on suspicion of poisoning at least three of his son's tennis opponents by spiking their water-bottles with tranquillisers.
Suspicions were first aroused in June when one of Maxime's opponents spotted Fauviau tampering with his water-bottle. The opponent did not drink the contents and handed it to detectives for analysis. Subsequent analysis revealed that the bottle contained traces of Temesta, an anti- depressant that causes extreme drowsiness.
The following day, another of Maxime's opponents was taken ill shortly after the game began, and spent several days in hospital.
On July 3rd, another of Maxime's opponents, schoolteacher Alexandre Lagardère (25), took ill. He lost control of his car on his way home and died. A post-mortem also revealed traces of Temesta.
Since Fauviau's arrest, other players have come forward, claiming to have fallen ill mysteriously when playing Maxime. According to local media reports, Fauviau has now admitted to poisoning two of his son's opponents. He faces up to 20 years in jail for the unintentional killing of the teacher.
The disruptive role of parents in sports, especially tennis, has become a common phenomenon in sport. Whereas previously they may have wished their children to become doctors or lawyers, serious wealth and fame are now to be found on the sports field.
Abusive behaviour towards children, coaches, referees and opponents is often an element in this pushiness, and although it sounds like a cliché, sports psychologists believe parents are simply compensating for their own frustrations and failures by driving their children to the limit.
"One common cause of parents transferring their own desires on to their children is their own inadequacy on the sports field," says Brendan Hackett, a sports consultant psychologist who has worked with many Irish international sports teams. "This happens because either they had no talent or ability themselves or they did play themselves but didn't make the grade."
The over-ambitious parent is especially prevalent in individual, as opposed to team, sports, according to Hackett. "I've seen it in loads of sports here in Ireland, but you tend to see it more in individual sports such as swimming."
Internationally, the highest concentration of problem parents seems to be found in tennis. Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, is at the milder end of tennis parenting. With no tennis background himself, he decided that, should he have girls, they would become tennis stars because of the amount of money they could make. He has acted as their main coach since then.
Perhaps the most reviled tennis dad is Marinko Lucic, father of Croatian star Mirjana Lucic, who routinely used beatings to force his then teenage daughter to concentrate.
Australian-Yugoslav tennis star Jelena Dokic's father Damir was barred from international tournaments after various incidents, including calling match officials Nazis, lying in the middle of the road and smashing mobile phones.
The antics of Jim Pierce, father of French tennis star Mary, towards his daughter and fans prompted the Pierce Rule, prohibiting abusive behaviour by players, coaches and relatives at tennis tournaments. Unsurprisingly his daughter fired him as a coach.
Jennifer Capriati is perhaps the best-known casualty of the pressures of early tennis success, dropping out of the sport for a time during her late teens and turning to drugs and shoplifting. Capriati's father, Stefano, defended pushing his daughter: "Where I come from we have a proverb: 'when the apple is ripe, eat it'. Jennifer is ripe." His daughter disagreed. "Leave me alone, you're screwing up my life," she retorted.
Such excesses have yet to enter Irish sport, but problem behaviour is definitely there, and it is the children who are most likely to suffer. "I've seen it in many sports where parents come to me saying their child is a bag of nerves," says Hackett. "Then you meet the kid and you find out why. Before a match or game you see the parent is up to high doh and they transmit it to the kids."
The result can be long-term psychological damage, with a child equating self-esteem with winning and success. Hackett believes that a code of best practice for parents is now needed in sport.
"Most clubs now have a welfare officer and there are guidelines on behaviour, which are not only aimed at preventing sexual abuse, but also about preventing emotional and psychological abuse. It would be a good idea for sporting associations to issue guidelines for parents and to highlight the fact that it is parents who are most at risk of pushing their children to excesses."