"My behavior was so outrageous but I’m such a big drawing card" - When John McEnroe registered his hatred of the ATP's Code of Conduct

John McEnroe, one of the most fiery personalities on the tennis tour in his time, has often come under criticism for letting his emotions get the better of him. The seven-time Grand Slam champion had even come close to being defaulted during matches for his outbursts at times.

However, the American was smart enough to know that he would never really be defaulted if it came down to it, seeing as he was a big drawcard for most tournaments. Speaking to Pete Bodo (as quoted by the writer in his book -- Courts of Babylon), the former World No. 1 registered his hatred for the "system" and how it made sure behavior such as his was given a loophole.

Lamenting the ATP's Code of Conduct, where a series of fines will lead to an eventual suspension instead of a straight default in the middle of the action, McEnroe admitted that he had acted "outrageously" on the court, fully knowing tournament directors could not afford to fire him regardless of how he behaved.

“The system stinks. There’ve been matches when my behavior was so outrageous that I should have been defaulted, but I’m such a big drawing card that no tournament director is going to shoot himself in the foot by defaulting me," John McEnroe said. "So they came up with this suspension plan that sits you down if you accumulate so many dollars in fines over a given period."

The American opined that the system was designed to be "manipulated" and that he was always aware of how far he could push it in order to get his way. With him being clever enough to exploit the rules, McEnroe himself was in disbelief at how much damage he could do without facing the full repercussions immediately.

“Even then, you don’t get kicked out when you go over the limit but later, and even that can be appealed. The system was there to be manipulated, and a lot of times I played it to the hilt," John McEnroe said. "A part of me was always aware of how far I could go and what it might cost me down the line. What I didn’t realize then was how much damage I could do to myself along the way by playing the system.”

"The Code of Conduct not only makes it impossible to be a bad sport, it also denies the individual the opportunity to be a good one" - Pete Bodo agrees with John McEnroe

John McEnroe at the Louis Armstrong Stadium Dedication Ceremony

Pete Bodo echoed John McEnroe, stating that the ATP's Code of Conduct was a tragic misstep, seeing as it spelled out things that ought to have been ingrained in individuals taking up the sport anyway. Bodo, therefore, was of the opinion that the rules not only made it impossible for players to be a bad sport but that it also prevented them from being a good one.

"Thus, the ATP Tour Code of Conduct is not a simulacrum of the Sumerian code but a benumbing body of rules and regulations that spell out things that ought to be ordained by any knucklehead’s sense of dignity and fair play," Bodo added. "The funny thing about this is that the Code of Conduct not only makes it impossible to be a bad sport, it also denies the individual the opportunity to be a good one."