There are a lot of small insular little fields like this where the main people all know each other personally and professionally: touring musicians, professiona

There are a lot of small insular little fields like this where the main people all know each other personally and professionally: touring musicians, professional surfers, that sort of thing. Tennis players definitely. When one of these people receives negative publicity that reaches the general public and no one from their field really speaks out on their behalf, you can usually assume it's because they're widely disliked among their peers. Professional tact may prevent colleagues from publicly saying anything against them, but they will just decline the opportunity to speak in their favor like this. It's a heuristic and not a perfect one but it's pretty reliable. If it were just a matter of internal sport politics they would have some allies that would come to their defense. If they are personally disliked even by their associates & allies you get this kind of silence.