George Karl In Book: 'Obvious' Some NBA Players Using PEDs
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NBA isn't as squeaky clean as it might appear on the surface, says former coach George Karl.
In his new autobiography, "Furious George," Karl wrote that he suspects some players are getting away with using performance-enhancing drugs.
"It's obvious some of our players are doping," Karl wrote, according to excerpts obtained by ProBasketballTalk. "How are some guys getting older — yet thinner and fitter? How are they recovering from injuries so fast? Why the hell are they going to Germany in the off-season? I doubt it's for the sauerkraut. ... More likely it's for the newest, hard-to-detect blood boosters and PEDs they have in Europe."
Suspensions for banned substances in the NBA are far rarer than in Major League Baseball and the NFL. Karl, who coached six teams, including the SuperSonics and Bucks, wrote that basketball's drug-testing program is more thorough than those in other sports, but added that drug testing "always seems to be a couple steps behind drug hiding." He noted that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong never failed a drug test.
Karl's comments aren't the only controversial ones to come out of his book, due out next month. Last week, excerpts were obtained that include Karl ripping Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin, all of whom he coached when with the Denver Nuggets.
He wrote that Anthony, now with the Knicks, "was the best offensive player I ever coached. He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it." The coach added that Anthony was unwilling to put in any effort to improve his defensive game.
Karl said that Smith's father urged him to shoot the ball as often as possible and that Smith had "a huge sense of entitlement, a distracting posse, his eye always on the next contract and some really unbelievable shot selection."
He also blamed the discipline problems of both Anthony and Kenyon Martin on the fact that they grew up without fathers.