Woman Basketball Player Suspended in April After Positive Test for Cocaine

An unnamed player attempting to gain a berth on the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team was suspended from competition for six months after twice testing positive for cocaine, the head of the Amateur Basketball Assn. of the United States said Wednesday.

William Wall, the association’s executive director, would not identify the player, citing an agreement between his agency, the U.S. Olympic Committee and athletes guaranteeing the confidentiality of any athlete testing positive.

“This was not a cold medicine,” Wall said from his office in Colorado Springs, Colo. “It was a hard-line drug. It was cocaine.”

The player participated in the Olympic trials in April in Colorado Springs but did not make the 12-player squad that went to a minicamp in Raleigh, N.C., June 1-9 or to later camps, Wall said.

Fifty players attended the four-day trials at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Of those, 21 were selected April 23 to compete for the final 12 spots on the Olympic team.

Coach Kay Yow could not be reached for comment. The 12-player team is working out at Socastee High School in South Carolina and is scheduled to leave Saturday.

“The girl did not participate in either the Raleigh minicamp or any of the training at Myrtle Beach,” Wall said. “That defines it, it’s way down. It’s not any of the current kids.”

The player appealed the suspension to the ABAUSA, which upheld the ruling. She then appealed to both the USOC and to the American Arbitration Assn. Both groups denied the appeal, the latter making its decision Aug. 10.