Noah: Using supplement to aid injuries ‘backfired’

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Joakim Noah says he is sorry for a positive drug test that has ended his injuryplagued first season with the New York Knicks.

Noah was suspended 20 games by the NBA on Saturday for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. He says he took an over-the-counter supplement to help with his injuries and “it backfired.”

The centre had left knee surgery Feb. 27 and returned to practice Tuesday. The Knicks hope the league will clear him to begin serving the suspension with their game Wednesday so he could eliminate the first eight games of it this season.

Noah was limited to 5.0 points a game in 46 games in the first season of a four-year, $72 million contract he signed last summer. The Associated Press