Friday, May 31, 2024

Weed at the U.S. Open? Some Players Swear They Can Smell It

Those aware of New York City comprehend it’s a spot the place you’ll now and again be faced with the scent of marijuana. But when a few of the global’s maximum elite tennis avid gamers stuck a whiff of weed throughout opening day of the U.S. Open in Queens, an investigation was launched to search out the imaginable supply.

The investigation’s findings have been inconclusive, officers stated, however the smell wasn’t a thriller to Nathan Joseph, 24, a dishwasher at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the place the event is performed.

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Around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Mr. Joseph rolled a joint on a park bench simply outdoor the stadium. He frequently smokes marijuana throughout his breaks, he stated, and so do lots of his colleagues.

“What else do they want me to do?” he stated, including that he doesn’t smoke within the advanced.

Maria Sakkari, of Greece, was once the first participant to convey consideration to the scent, stated Chris Widmaier, a spokesman for the United States Tennis Association, which runs the U.S. Open. Ms. Sakkari was once dealing with off towards Spain’s Rebeka Masarova on Monday when she instructed the chair umpire that she smelled marijuana.

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“It was weed,” Ms. Sakkari stated throughout a news convention, including, “It was smelling quite a lot.”

Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and the fit was once performed on Court 17, on the southeast nook of the advanced.

Other avid gamers who performed on the court docket later commented on the scent, Mr. Widmaier stated.

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The stadium does now not allow smoking of any sort, Mr. Widmaier stated, however the U.S.T.A. started investigating whether or not or now not the scent may well be coming from inside the advanced.

Officials interviewed a couple of staff and reviewed video of video games performed on the court docket, Mr. Widmaier stated, however they “didn’t see anyone in the stadium lighting anything up.”

“I don’t know if the marijuana smell is from inside the stadium or if it wafted over from somewhere else in the park,” he stated.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation was once instructed that avid gamers have been noticing a marijuana scent most likely coming from simply outdoor the stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Dan Kastanis, a senior press officer for New York City Parks, stated.

The parks division was once “working with the United States Tennis Association and the New York City Police Department to address the complaints,” he stated.

He added that city law prohibits smoking at Flushing Meadows Corona Park and all different New York City parks.

Since the U.S. Open started on Monday, Mr. Widmaier stated that he were to the court docket in query a couple of occasions and hadn’t smelled the rest out of the peculiar.

“I haven’t noticed it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” he stated.

On Wednesday afternoon, the court docket smelled like sunscreen and fried meals from a close-by concession stand providing sizzling canines, rooster strips and fries. The faint odor of urine drifted from the restrooms north of the stands.

Smoking his joint in a bit of the park that neighbored Court 17, Mr. Joseph and several other of his colleagues have been in transparent view of law enforcement officials. As crimson and blue lighting flashed from a close-by police cruiser, he stated he had no plans to prevent smoking throughout his breaks.

Jesus Jiménez contributed reporting.

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