Matisse Thybulle of the Blazers was suspended for five games for breaking the anti-drug programme.
Matisse Thybulle of the Portland Trail Blazers ensured that the NBA had its just desserts on a day when most people anticipated that Major League Baseball would dominate the news with its massive drug-suspension scandal.
Jared Zwerling of ESPN reports that Matisse violated the NBA’s anti-drug policy:
The league has not disclosed the precise substance, but according to a great analysis by Henry Abbott of ESPN, Matisse’ five-game suspension may have been the consequence of either a first-time positive test for performance-enhancing drugs or a third-time positive test for marijuana.
It appears improbable that Harris’ penalty is related to performance-enhancing drug use, considering the more severe suspensions the NBA has been imposing for PED use since the 2011 collective bargaining agreement.
Recall that Hedo Turkoglu received a 20-game suspension for testing positive for the anabolic steroid methenolone last season, while O.J. Mayo served a 10-game suspension for testing positive for the steroid DHEA in 2011.
The severity of either of those punishments is not quite matched by Matisse’ five games.
Following an intriguing possible connection to the Biogenesis clinic, which purportedly provided performance-enhancing drugs to several Major League Baseball players, Matisse’ ban doesn’t exactly give hope that the NBA is fully in control of its drug problem.
Thus, it makes sense that commissioner David Stern, as reported by Ken Berger of CBS, seems committed to moving quickly to implement a league-wide HGH test as early as the upcoming season.
As part of the three-team transaction that included Robin Lopez from the New Orleans Pelicans, Matisse joined the Blazers. Matisse was once thought to have little chance of making the squad, but his performance in Portland’s Las Vegas Summer League championship game, where he scored 25 points, may have changed his destiny.
Currently, Matisse’ compensation for 2013–14 is only fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster through October 31. The Blazers may look elsewhere for a player to fill the end of their bench now that he will miss the opening five games of the season.
