New Yorks Knicks center Joakim Noah has been suspended 20 games by the NBA after testing positive for an over-the-counter supplement banned bt the league’s current collective bargaining ageement, the NBA announced Saturday.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported the news early Saturday morning.
In a few ways, Noah’s suspension is kind of amusing.
For one thing, Noah’s performance sure doesn’t seem enhanced. The center has struggled in the first year of a four-year $72 million deal with the Knicks, averaging 5 points and 8.7 rebounds a game and performing far below the level he reached while on the Chicago Bulls.
https://twitter.com/knicksjets4life/status/845589977736122368
Then there’s the drug Noah tested positive for, a supplement called LGD-4033. According to ESPN, LGD-4033 is a non-steroidal modulator that has many of the muscle-building properties of testosterone without all of the side effects. ESPN reports that LGD-4033 will be legal in the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, which takes effect next season.
According to Woj, an NBA Players Association investigation found that Noah hadn’t “knowingly or willingly” violated the league’s anti-drug policy. And given that this drug will be permissible in a few months, there seems to be no real point in litigating whether Noah is a cheater or a liar or whatever. He either took an innocuous drug intentionally, seeking to game a soon-to-expire system, or he did it by accident. But who really cares?
Another somewhat silly aspect of this situation: Noah has been out with a knee injury since Feb. 4 and was unlikely to play in the Knicks’ final 10 games of the season, so it appears the first half of his suspension will be served in contests he would’ve missed anyway. He’ll then sit only the first 10 games of next year.
So injured player who isn’t even very good will miss games he would’ve missed anyway for taking a drug that will be perfectly legal by the time his suspension ends. Sound like real justice.
