Galatasaray player tests positive for doping

ISTANBUL

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Galatasaray basketball team captain David Hawkins has been provisionally left out of his team’s squad that was scheduled to face Germany’s Ulm in a Eurocup game last night after testing positive for banned substances.

The American forward, who was voted the most valuable player of last year’s Turkish Basketball League final series, tested positive for “intoxicating substance” following his team’s Royal Gaziantep game last month.

The American player faces suspension of up to two years if he is found guilty after a Turkish Basketball Federation probe.

However, the result of a definitive second sample is yet to be announced. The Turkish Basketball Federation has also not yet made an official statement.

Hawkins previously failed a doping test in 2007 when he was playing for Virtus Roma and was given a three-month ban.

The 30-year-old was arguably the most important member of the treble-winning Beşiktaş Milangaz squad last season.

Hawkins’ transfer from Beşiktaş to Galatasaray was one of the most speculated stories of the summer.
The move was punctuated by a Beşiktaş fan’s comment, saying, “You have to stay with us to become a legend,” only for Hawkins to famously write, “Being a legend doesn’t pay my children’s school fees” on Twitter.