Diana Taurasi’s ‘B’ sample is positive for doping
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Diana Taurasi’s ‘B’ sample tested positive for doping, threatening her chances of competing during the 2012 London Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee bans any athlete given a doping penalty of six months or more from competing in the next games. The World Anti-Doping Agency has not yet issued a punishment.
Taurasi’s ‘A’ sample tested positive last month for modafinil -- a banned substance used to counter excessive sleepiness due to narcolepsy, shift-work disorder or sleep apnea -- following a game with her Turkish club team Fenerbahce. The team suspended her and terminated her contract Thursday after the Turkish Basketball Federation announced the results of her ‘B’ sample.
Taurasi, who has led the WNBA in scoring (22.6 points per game) for the last four years, helped the U.S. team win gold medals in 2004 and 2008. She was also the leading scorer at the women’s world championships, which the Americans won in October.
The WNBA released a statement Wednesday that said, ‘’We will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds and as additional facts become available but feel it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.’
--Melissa Rohlin
