A basketball player was recently suspended by FIBA, the world’s governing body for basketball, until June 2020 for attempting to cheat a drug test, according to RTV, a media company in Slovenia.
So, how did FIBA come to learn that D.J. Cooper, a former Ohio University guard who was a part of the school’s Sweet 16 team in 2012, cheated the test?
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He tested positive for pregnancy.
Oops.
As it turns out, Cooper submitted a urine sample for the drug test that belonged to his pregnant girlfriend.
Cooper ended up testing positive for human growth hormone, which is produced by the placenta after impregnation.
To rewind, after finishing out his time at Ohio University in 2013, Cooper started a career in Europe, eventually being granted citizenship in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2014.
Because of that, Cooper became a member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team and was in the process of maintaining his eligibility to that squad when he submitted the (allegedly) fraudulent drug test.
It was an interesting twist since Cooper left the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team in 2015, but he obviously was looking to get back on that team.
Cooper had a nice stint at Ohio University, finishing his time there as the only player in NCAA history to record at least 2,000 points, 900 assists, 600 rebounds and 300 steals in a career.
His basketball career is in major jeopardy, but if there were an award for most bizarre way to get suspended, it’s hard to imagine anyone beating out Cooper for it.