Reserve Hunter is suspended for 10 games
The NBA suspended Pistons reserve guard Lindsey Hunter for 10 games without pay Wednesday because he tested positive for the banned substance phentermine.
The suspension began immediately, meaning Hunter missed Wednesday's home game against the Cavaliers.
Phentermine is a common ingredient in prescription weight-loss pills but is banned by the league as a performance-enhancing diuretic.
Hunter said he took some weight-loss pills, which were prescribed to his wife, Ivy, in January while trying to come back from a foot injury. The drug, an amphetamine derivative, acts as an appetite suppressant.
"I was just as shocked. I said, 'Whaaat?' " Hunter said, when he was notified of the suspension Wednesday afternoon by the NBA.
"It's not a steroid or anything. I'm not any bigger or anything. It is what it is. I've never had a problem like this in my life.
"It's just sort of a bonehead mistake by me."
Hunter will be docked $243,902, the 10-game equivalent of his $2 million salary.
Hunter, accompanied by his wife, discussed his suspension before Wednesday's game and then had to leave. A suspension bars a player from being around the team. He will not go on the Pistons' nine-day, five-game West Coast trip, which begins today.
Hunter said he was randomly drug-tested a month ago but did not receive the results until Wednesday. He will be eligible to return March 25 against the Bucks.
"Ever since Lindsey's come back, we've played well," coach Flip Saunders said. "He's a vital part of our team. There's not coincidence that our defense got a lot better (when Hunter came back).
"It's a big loss. It's (Hunter taking the diet pills) not something that was done to get stronger or circumvent something."
Source: Google News
