New York: The United
Nations (UN) suspended Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova from her role as the
United Nations Goodwill Ambassador following her failed drug test.
The five-time Grand Slam
champion was appointed to the role with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in
2007, with a special focus on helping with the recovery efforts after the 1986
Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Sharapova tested positive for ‘Meldonium’ at the 2016
Australian Open in January and has been provisionally suspended from tennis
pending an independent tribunal ruling on the case.
The 28-year-old was
paid a symbolic $1 salary for her role and said that it was one of her
“proudest contracts ever”. Sharapova's family once lived 80 miles north of
Chernobyl in the Belarusian city of Gomel. However, they were forced to flee to
Siberia because of fears of radiation after the nuclear accident.
A spokeswoman from the UNDP said: “The
United Nations Development Programme remains grateful to Maria Sharapova for
her support of our work, especially around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
recovery. However, in light of Sharapova’s recent announcement, we last week
suspended her role as a Goodwill Ambassador and any planned activities while
the investigation continues. We wish Sharapova the best.”
UN guideline states that goodwill
ambassadors are "persons of integrity" who "possess the
personality and dignity required for such high-level representative
capacity." Sharapova appears to have contravened Article 28 of Guidelines
for the designation of Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace, which
states that the arrangement will be re-examined if the ambassador "engages
in any activity incompatible with his/her status or with the purposes and
principles of the UN, or if the termination is in the interest of the
organization."
She made a $100,000 donation to young
survivors caught up in the world's worst nuclear accident upon her appointment
in 2007.
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