Philadelphia Sixers forward Paul George has been handed a 25 game suspension by the National Basketball Association (NBA) for using a banned substance.
His suspension is without pay and George is expected to return to action on March 25; 10 games before the regular season ends.
Philadelphia, at the time of writing, sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings and are in pole position to make it to the playoffs.
Reacting to the suspension via ESPN, George shared that his battles dealing with mental health got him entangled in taking banned substance.
“Over the past few years, I’ve discussed the importance of mental health, and in the course of recently seeking treatment for an issue of my own, I made the mistake of taking an improper medication.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions and apologise to the Sixers organization, my team-mates and the Philly fans for my poor decision making during this process.”
“I’m focused on using this time to make sure that my mind and body are in the best condition to help the team when I return” his statement read.
