The 2016-2017 NBA season has not been kind to Joakim Noah or the New York Knicks. Noah, fresh off signing a lucrative four-year contract that blew up the market before July 1 even arrived, struggled mightily in year one and the Knicks, in tandem, have floundered throughout the campaign. With that as the backdrop, the veteran center was recently suspended by the NBA for 20 games as a result of a violation of the NBA’s anti-drug policy.
He opened up about the suspension in an interview with Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. Noah was unusually honest about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“This was a tough moment, but I’m going to learn from it. I tried to take a supplement to help me with everything I’ve gone through. I’ve gone through a lot of injuries, and I tried to take something to help me and it backfired.”
”I wanted to do something to help myself, help my body and like I said it backfired on me. I tried to take the right measures when I was taking the supplements and it wasn’t enough.”
The former All-Star big man hasn’t quite been the same on the floor since he was hit with an avalanche of injuries during his time in Chicago. Those knocks have clearly diminished Noah as a player and it makes sense that he would be looking for a way to recapture his previous level of play.
The AP report also indicates that Noah was taking Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator LGD-4033 and that cites a different source in stating the drug has ”similar properties to anabolic agents, but … the lack of steroid-related side effects.” While the world of performance-enhancing drugs is ever-changing, this is a route that the public hasn’t been fully aware of in the past and it might take a suspension such as this one to bring additional awareness.
Noah reportedly indicated that his actions “didn’t come from a bad place,” but in the same breath, it isn’t the best look to be caught up in a performance-enhancing scandal in the midst of a career downturn. New York’s highly-paid center did return to practice this week following a lengthy injury absence, and can begin serving part of his 20-game suspension as the Knicks finish out what has been a lost season.
It is, at least in some ways, refreshing to see Noah open up in the way that he did, including the fact that he believes “everything in life has its purpose” and that he believes the suspension itself was a bit excessive. In the end, it won’t change the fact that he will lose nearly $3 million in game salaries and have the suspension included on his lengthy basketball profile.
Still, Joakim Noah didn’t have to speak this clearly on the topic and he should probably be commended for that if nothing else.
