LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers backup center Soumaila Samake was suspended for five games by the NBA on Tuesday for violating the league's steroids policy.
Samake, 24, a native of Mali in his third NBA season, will not be paid during the suspension, which began with Tuesday night's game against Atlanta.
The league and the NBA Players Association do not disclose details regarding the testing or treatment of players in the program, but Samake issued a statement saying he had taken a dietary supplement that contained Nandrolone, a substance banned by the NBA.
He said he was unaware the supplement contained Nandrolone and that it wasn't listed on the product he used.
"Nandrolone is commonly found in many products sold in nutritional stores in dietary supplements used,'' Samake said in the statement, distributed by Global Sports Management. "Nandrolone has only recently been banned by the NBA and was unknown to me at the time of using the product.
"The lesson for a young athlete to be learned is that all products they are going to use should be checked with a certified strength coach, trainer or doctor before using them.''
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he didn't believe Samake should have been suspended because the violation occurred in the offseason.
"We've known about this since October, the first two days of training camp,'' Jackson said. "He came forward. It was an innocent commission. We alerted the league.''
Jackson said Samake was tested during a physical examination at the beginning of training camp.
"I'm bewildered and feel sorry for him,'' Lakers forward Samaki Walker said. "It's something over the counter. Unfortunately these type of things change every year, they add something every year. I believe his story.''
Because Shaquille O'Neal had to undergo surgery on his arthritic right big toe during the offseason, the Lakers signed the 7-foot Samake as a free agent on Aug. 23. He has appeared in six games, averaging 8 minutes, 2.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.
Samake was a second-round draft pick by the New Jersey Nets in 2000. He played in 34 games for the Nets in the 2000-01 season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.6 minutes.
O'Neal, who had surgery on his right big toe on Sept. 11, hopes to make his season debut in the next week or two.
"I talked to him earlier and I know he feels bad,'' O'Neal said. "It was an honest mistake.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know what's legal and what's illegal by NBA standards. For example -- this is a true story -- I had a poppy seed muffin during the Olympics, right before I took the test. A couple days later, they thought I was doing coke. We later found out that poppy seeds in a muffin were the same thing as cocaine.''
Nice spin job Crack-eal O'Neal. Doing a few rails before a game always get me up too. Bwhahahahahaha!
Samake, 24, a native of Mali in his third NBA season, will not be paid during the suspension, which began with Tuesday night's game against Atlanta.
The league and the NBA Players Association do not disclose details regarding the testing or treatment of players in the program, but Samake issued a statement saying he had taken a dietary supplement that contained Nandrolone, a substance banned by the NBA.
He said he was unaware the supplement contained Nandrolone and that it wasn't listed on the product he used.
"Nandrolone is commonly found in many products sold in nutritional stores in dietary supplements used,'' Samake said in the statement, distributed by Global Sports Management. "Nandrolone has only recently been banned by the NBA and was unknown to me at the time of using the product.
"The lesson for a young athlete to be learned is that all products they are going to use should be checked with a certified strength coach, trainer or doctor before using them.''
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he didn't believe Samake should have been suspended because the violation occurred in the offseason.
"We've known about this since October, the first two days of training camp,'' Jackson said. "He came forward. It was an innocent commission. We alerted the league.''
Jackson said Samake was tested during a physical examination at the beginning of training camp.
"I'm bewildered and feel sorry for him,'' Lakers forward Samaki Walker said. "It's something over the counter. Unfortunately these type of things change every year, they add something every year. I believe his story.''
Because Shaquille O'Neal had to undergo surgery on his arthritic right big toe during the offseason, the Lakers signed the 7-foot Samake as a free agent on Aug. 23. He has appeared in six games, averaging 8 minutes, 2.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.
Samake was a second-round draft pick by the New Jersey Nets in 2000. He played in 34 games for the Nets in the 2000-01 season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.6 minutes.
O'Neal, who had surgery on his right big toe on Sept. 11, hopes to make his season debut in the next week or two.
"I talked to him earlier and I know he feels bad,'' O'Neal said. "It was an honest mistake.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know what's legal and what's illegal by NBA standards. For example -- this is a true story -- I had a poppy seed muffin during the Olympics, right before I took the test. A couple days later, they thought I was doing coke. We later found out that poppy seeds in a muffin were the same thing as cocaine.''
Nice spin job Crack-eal O'Neal. Doing a few rails before a game always get me up too. Bwhahahahahaha!
