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A common thread in the reactions of the American sports media about this week’s revelations that Andre Agassi used crystal meth in 1997 has been “why?” Why would he go public, in his “OPEN: An Autobiography,” with the information that he used the stimulant drug and then lied to an ATP tribunal to avoid getting a three-month suspension after testing positive?

Many will believe that money – sources have quoted $5-million (all currency U.S.) as the advance he received for the book – is the reason that he has come clean.

Pete Sampras, Agassi’s long-time rival and a superior champion though not nearly as charismatic a character, likely received no more than $1-million for his book “Champion’s Mind,” published last year. In it, Sampras documented his evolution as a player but there was no mention whatsoever of his love life – nothing about Delaina Mulcahy, the older woman whom he dated for six years beginning shortly after he won the U.S. Open as a 19 year old in 1990, and nothing about Kimberly Williams, the “Father of the Bride,” Hollywood actress who was his girlfriend and watched from the friends seats at Wimbledon when he won his fourth title there in 1997.

For a $5-million or thereabouts price tag, it was clear Agassi would have to divulge a lot more than just the subtleties of his remarkable ball-striking ability and a few war stories about his tournament triumphs.

While it is unlikely he needs the money, not all of Agassi’s ventures have been successful since he retired in 2006. He was the front man for a planned resort development in Idaho and did ‘touchy-feely” TV adds promoting the bucolic and family-friendly virtues of the project.

It subsequently fell through and he withdrew his commitments.

Agassi has always been very generous with his family members and friends, and an exemplary role model for a pro athlete giving back to the community with his Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in his hometown of Las Vegas, so an extra $5-million can undoubtedly be put to good use.

Beyond the money, there are compelling reasons why he would make the revelation of his drug use, and then lying about it, at this time.

As a deeply religious person, it allows him to cleanse his soul.

There is also the fact that at some point the story of the positive drug test, and his ensuing lie to cover it up, might come out. It is wiser to get it out there on his own terms.

Similarly, Agassi and wife Steffi Graf’s children, Jaden Gil and Jaz Elle, are currently eight and six years old respectively. It is surely better for this information to be made public now rather than in 10 years when they would be at a much more vulnerable age.

Past experience shows, despite individuals such as Boris Becker and others claiming to shocked by Agassi’s drug use and bewildered he would go public about it, that people tend to forgive and forget.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion (one less than Agassi) Mats Wilander tested positive for cocaine in 1995 and subsequently served a three-month suspension. Today, he is one of the most beloved and respected past champions in the game.

Likewise, Martina Hingis’s positive test for cocaine in 2007 and Jennifer Capriati’s troubled times with drugs recede into the past and are replaced by memories of their heroic accomplishments on the court.

A mere eight months ago Alex Rodriguez was disgraced when the news came out that he had used steroids in the past. Today, he is riding high as the New York Yankees play in their 40th World Series and all is forgotten, and maybe even forgiven.

Andre Agassi’s life story has all the elements of high drama, as people will learn in OPEN, destined to be a best seller. It is to be released on November 9, the day after he appears on CBS’s 60 Minutes, a show that will surely get huge ratings.

Meanwhile. . . on Friday at the ATP 250 tournament in Lyon France, seven of the eight quarter-finalists were Frenchmen – Serra, Gicquel, Llodra, Benneteau, Simon, Clement and Tsonga. Veteran Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia was the lone foreign interloper.

It’s the first time seven Frenchman have reached the quarter-finals of an ATP event. In 1991, all eight quarter-finalists at the ATP tournament in Orlando, Fla., were Americans.