U.S. basketballers indicted for smoking marijuana expelled from clubs

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- Two American players in Korea's professional
basketball league indicted for allegedly smoking marijuana have been ousted from
their clubs, officials of the teams said Friday.
The expulsion of Terrence Shannon of Seoul-based SK Knights and Calvin Warner of
Anyang-based KT&G Kites was announced, though the two players pleaded not guilty
to the drug allegation, according to the officials.
Prosecutors indicted the two and SK's DeAngelo Collins, who admitted the
accusation and left South Korea due to a knee injury last month, for smoking the
banned substance at a hotel room in downtown Seoul in mid January.
They said they were certain that Shannon, 30, engaged in the illegal activity
based on a drug test on a hair sample that came out positive. Meanwhile, Warner's
test result was unreadable as he shaved his hair short, according to
investigators.
Under South Korea's laws, marijuana users can be sentenced to a maximum of five
years in jail or fined up to 50 million won (US$33,300).
"We have looked into related laws and KBL regulations. Although Shannon adamantly
denies his accusation, our team decided to discharge Shannon no matter," said an
official from SK.
"Warner pleads not guilty and we know he has well behaved so far. But his
indictment itself can damage the spirit of fair play," said an official of KT&G.
"We ousted him as we think his allegation disappointed basketball fans."
In the Korea Baseball League, 10 teams have two foreign players each.
brk@yna.co.kr
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