[Guide] With the exposure of Odom’s drug abuse case, it has attracted doubts about NBA drug testing.
According to reports, 30% of NBA players will use banned drugs during the season. How can those friends who use banned drugs escape the NBA’s “strict” drug test?
After the news of Odom’s drug addiction was exposed, some people pointed out that Odom began to use illegal drugs during the Lakers period. Then how did Odom escape the spot checks of the NBA’s drug safety alliance in these years.
Some players have revealed that 30% of their players will use banned drugs during the season, which makes Adam Silver, the league vice president of drug safety in the NBA, embarrassing.
However, power forward David Lee, who is currently playing for the Golden State Warriors, insisted in an interview that the league’s drug testing policy was implemented very well.
David Lee said in an interview, “Let me tell you, the NBA’s drug testing is very thorough and random, so if you really use banned drugs, it is not easy to escape.”
Since the 2011-12 season, the NBA has only increased the punishment. The first violation is suspended for 20 games, the second violation is suspended for 45 games, and the third violation is expelled from the league.
No matter what David Lee thinks, “random inspection” always means that there are loopholes to exploit.
The biggest problem with the league’s current drug testing policy is that players are only allowed to be checked 4 times per season, but the end of the fourth test is not the end of the season. After the last test, players can do whatever they want.
Moreover, apart from the official statement of the league, no one knows how the drug test was carried out.
Marijuana is so ubiquitous in today’s sport that many athletes use it only in moderation, so it doesn’t have a noticeable effect on their performance on the field.
But with the advent of social media, the problem of taking medication has changed dramatically in the past five years.