Basketball-Harrell axed by Adelaide after positive test for banned substance

Sept 25 – Former Los Angeles Clippers center Montrezl Harrell’s contract has been terminated by the Adelaide 36ers after he failed a doping test in China, the National Basketball League side said on Thursday.

China’s anti-doping agency said earlier this year that the 31-year-old had tested positive for a precursor to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, while playing for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

“He was tested in April 2025 with a positive finding being announced two months later – after he had already re-signed with the Adelaide 36ers,” the 36ers said in a statement.

“As it stands, Harrell is not permitted to train or play, and with no timeline on when the process will be finalised and no certainty on any sanctions, the club has been left with no option but to terminate Harrell’s contract to allow it to move to finalise the playing roster.”

Harrell, who played for several teams during his nine seasons in the NBA including the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, said in a now-deleted post on X that he had not taken performance-enhancing drugs.

“Like I understand fail a drug test. I get what the test showed,” he wrote. “What I get lost is on the doping part. Because doping is rule on taking a drug to increase or gain an edge in competition use. I know damn well I had zero of anything like that in me, so again doping?”

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