Maria Sharapova, seventh-ranked women’s tennis player in the world, admitted to testing positive at the Australian Open for the recently banned drug meldonium in a press conference on March 8.

According to Sharapova, she had been taking mildronate (also known as meldonium) for the past 10 years to treat medical conditions, but she was unaware that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had added the drug to a list of banned substances at the start of 2016. According to TIME, many eastern European countries commonly use meldonium as a means of improving oxygen intake and reducing the risk of severe heart problems. In her statement, Sharapova also cited her family history with diabetes as a reason for taking the drug in 2006.

The 5-time Grand Slam Champion’s admission garnered a certain respect for the tennis star’s proactiveness to publicly announce such a wrongdoing, but, at the end of the day, the social reverberations emanating from her admission spread far and wide and the situation ultimately questions the true pervasiveness of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in professional sports.

Ronda Rousey, Serena Williams, Alex Morgan, Maria Sharapova*: prime examples of the heroines of contemporary sports culture. Along with the burdening weight of fulfilling idealistic expectations as professional athletes, these individuals and many other strive to shine in an arguably male-dominated industry as female professional athletes.

Female athletes are pioneers and even rebels in the sports industry, which typically portrays males as the most dominant athletes. It seems almost as if the spotlight of fame, and criticism, shines more intensely on the female professional athlete as opposed to her male counterpart, simply because there are less of the former and more of the latter. Yet, female athletes aren’t “female athletes;” they’re athletes.

Consider the defeats of UFC superstars Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor. Both individuals handled insurmountable pressure to uphold high expectations going into their respective fights. Yet, many people lashed out at Rousey for her presumptuous comments and arrogant disposition before her fight against Holly Holm, while McGregor displayed the same actions and attitudes before his fight against Nate Diaz but didn’t receive the same degree of adverse responses. Critics may argue that comparing the losses of Rousey and McGregor is comparing apples and oranges, but what if the major factor differentiating the apple from the orange was gender?

Similarly, Sharapova’s case has warranted a knee-jerk reaction from her sponsors and even her fans. Nike suspended its $70 million deal until the star’s investigation is complete. Porsche also canceled its current endorsements with Sharapova. Companies such as Evian found her confessions surprising and are now watching this situation more closely.

Plainly, Sharapova violated the rules. But let’s keep in mind that she allegedly took meldonium without illicit intent and that she, not tabloids or sports websites, reported her own mistake.

And let’s also not forget that she isn’t the first to be involved with banned substances, and she definitely won’t be the last. Several well-known male athletes, such as Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez and Pete Rose, have been busted for using PEDs, and many of them are still allowed to compete. It’s safe to assume that multiple other cases around intentional drug abuse fly under the radar every year throughout the sports industry. 

While the Russian tennis star’s fans may fear the gravity of her inevitable suspension and the impact of this investigation on her future, this discussion on drug policies in sports should make fans of all sports wonder if distinguished athletes taking not illegal (slightly different from “legal”) drugs today are actually enhancing their performance.