The Turkish Basketball Federation announced last Thursday that WNBA star Diana Taurasi’s “B” sample came back positive for modafinil. Following Thursday’s announcement, the Istanbul-based team Fenerbahce released Taurasi from her contract during her first season. Moreover, Taurasi’s positive tests jeopardize her eligibility for the 2012 Olympics in London. If she is prohibited from participating in the games, it would be a major blow to the US team.
One of the most revered players in women’s baskeball, Taurasi led the WNBA is scoring for four straight years, averaging 22.6 points last season. The five time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion helped the Americans win gold medals in 2004 and 2008, and she was the leading scorer in last year’s world championships. Taurasi is a triple threat at point-guard, the female equivalent of a Kobe Bryant or Chris Paul.
Like many WNBA stars lured abroad by lucrative salaries, Taurasi played in Russia for four years before joining the Turkish league this year. Taurasi was tested after a Nov. 13 TBF game, and her “A” sample came back postivie for modafinil. The second “B” sample is considered definitive proof that Taurasi took the drug. However, many players remain skeptical about the Turkish testing system, and some of Taurasi’s teammates have requested their tests be conducted abroad.
Commonly marketed as Provigil in the United States, modafinil is a stimulant used for narcoleptic and those suffering from shift-work sleep disorder. Modafinil is on WADA”s list of banned substances, and gained some attention when US sprinter Kelli White was stripped of her 2003 world championship medals for using the drug. The ultimate repercussions for modafinil in the Taurasi case remain to be seen.
The International Olympic Committee bars any athlete given a doping penalty of six months or more from competing in the next Olympic games. The Turkish Basketball Federation has yet to issue a punishment to Taurasi, but she could face up to two years. Thus, Taurasi’s Olympic elgibility hinges on the TBF’s sentencing. Last year, Taurasi extended a multiyear contact with the Phoenix Mercury. They have yet to comment on the case.
WTJ will continue to follow the Taurasi case both as it pertains to her Olympic eligibility and her WNBA career. We can only hope that the tests were reliable, and that the ban a matter of sportsmanship rather than politics.
Sources Consulted
ESPN and The Associated Press
