The P.League+ on Tuesday handed the New Taipei Kings’ Jeremy Lin (林書豪) a five-game suspension after he received a blood treatment not allowed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
No prohibited substances were involved, but the former NBA player contravened WADA rules by receiving Intravenous Laser Irradiation of Blood (ILIB), the P.League+ said in a statement.
ILIB is a laser therapy used to improve circulation and oxygen absorption.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
In addition to the suspension from Saturday through April 6, Lin also faces a fine of NT$150,000, the league said, citing Article 24-3 of its rule book.
“Those who contravene the rules can face a one-year suspension, a lifetime suspension, or a fine of up to NT$500,000,” it said.
The disciplinary measures were announced hours after the Kings issued a statement saying the treatment was not intended to “enhance performance and only meant to assist in the recovery” of his foot injury.
Lin has been unavailable most of this year, playing only four of the team’s 18 games in the P.League+ and the East Asia Super League due to a plantar fascia injury sustained in late January.
The franchise said they had no idea that the treatment was not allowed by WADA, although it is legal according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The franchise’s medical team has apologized to Lin for their negligence, the Kings said, adding that they would comply with the league’s investigation and have deleted a video showing Lin receiving the treatment.
The treatment raised concerns after the Kings uploaded a YouTube video on March 7 showing the 35-year-old receiving it.
Arnold Chen (陳志弘) of Taiwan’s Anti-Doping Agency, on Tuesday said that although WADA forbids athletes from manipulating their blood or the content of the bloodstream from within their blood vessels, whether or not Lin has contravened those regulations is still open to interpretation, as the agency’s laws do not specifically address the use of ILIB.
Taiwanese athletes can only use banned substances and methods of treatment if they submit paperwork to prove that the treatments do not enhance athletic performance and are the only option available to aid in their recovery, Chen added.
No research has proven that ILIB enhances athletes’ performance, said Tsai Wen-chung (蔡文鐘), director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Taoyuan Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.
However, “the core value of anti-doping rules is to prohibit the use of unnatural methods to change one’s physical constitution and the way it is constituted,” Tsai added.
Additional reporting by AFP
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