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Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George is set to return to action on Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls after serving a 25-game suspension for a failed drug test.
On Tuesday, George met with members of the media and gave a strange excuse for why he opted to use a banned substance.
He started by apologizing, stating that, “to let people down hurt more than kind of anything.”
But George refused to get into specifics of what he actually tested positive for, and when asked why he took what it is that he took, George seemed to give a cop out answer.
Paul George Blamed Mental Health For Use Of Banned Substance
“The most difficult thing is when your body isn’t where you know it needs to be or where it once was,” George said. “That leads and bleeds into the mental side of things, knowing that you’re limited. But for me, I feel good, my body is feeling great. Mentally, I know I’m capable of doing what I can do and what I’ve been able to on the court for years.
“Being a pro athlete takes a toll on you,” he continued. “My body wasn’t where I wanted it to be. The expectations to perform because of my body not being where it needed to be, obviously, I’m going to have an expectation for myself. That’s what led to a poor decision at the time.”
Listen, George’s answer may well be honest. He was once one of the top players in the NBA, and the nine-time All-Star is likely to end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame one day.
But just because you’re struggling to come to grips with losing a step doesn’t validate using a substance that you’re aware is banned by the league.
Meanwhile, the Sixers have struggled without him as fellow stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey have both missed games due to injury.
The only upside to the suspension for the 76ers is that they may now have a healthy Paul George down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Although trading away young guard Jared McCain at the deadline doesn’t exactly signal that Philadelphia is trying to win now.