NBA Suspends Magic Forward Turkoglu 20 Games for Banned Substance
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Orlando Magic/NBA(NEW YORK) — The NBA suspended Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu for 20 games on Wednesday after he tested positive for methenolone, an anabolic steroid. The suspension is effective immediately.
The 33-year-old Turkoglu released a statement saying he took medication this past off-season while in his native Turkey, given to him by a trainer, which he did not know contained a banned substance.
“I take full responsibility for anything that goes into my body,” Turkoglu said. “This was a complete error in judgment on my part and I apologize to the Orlando Magic organization, the league, my teammates, and the Magic fans. I know I have let down a lot of people and I am truly sorry for my mistake.”
Magic general manager Rob Hennigan released a statement in support of Turkoglu.
“Hedo unknowingly took a banned substance,” Hennigan said. “There are more than 125 banned substances on the NBA List, and we spend a lot of time educating our players on the contents of that list and will certainly continue to do so moving forward. We believe this was an honest mistake.”
The 13-year-NBA veteran is averaging 2.9 points, 2.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 11 games this season.
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