Clippers’ Edwards Is Suspended After Testing Positive for Drugs

Clipper rookie Jay Edwards, the 1989 Big Ten player of the year, was suspended Saturday by the NBA for the rest of the season after testing positive in a recent drug test.

According to Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor, Edwards checked into a substance-abuse center in Van Nuys Saturday. Is is not known what drug was revealed by the league-administered test, one of three every rookie must take.

“He’s down and he’s disappointed,” Baylor said. “He feels badly. At this time now, the organization is just trying to encourage him and be supportive.”

Edwards, at 21 the league’s second-youngest player, has had previous drug problems. In September of 1988, he withdrew from Indiana University after flunking a school drug testing program, returning in time to be named Big Ten player of the year as a sophomore. He turned pro after the season.

A second-round pick, he has spent nearly all of the season on the injured list because of tendinitis in his left knee. He appeared in four games, playing a total of 26 minutes.

Edwards is from Marion, Ind., but remained in Los Angeles for rehabilitation on the knee during the Clippers’ current five-game trip. He could not be reached for comment.

Edwards is the third player to be suspended under the first year of the season-long rookie testing program. Stanley Brundy of the New Jersey Nets and Roy Marble of the Atlanta Hawks also are suspended without pay.