ORLANDO, Fla. ? Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu was suspended 20 games by the NBA on Wednesday after testing positive for steroids.
The NBA said Turkoglu tested positive for methenolone, an anabolic steroid. He began serving the suspension Wednesday night, when the Magic played host to the Atlanta Hawks.
Turkoglu took full responsibility for the positive test and apologized to the Magic organization, his fans and fellow teammates. He said he took medication from a trainer in Turkey in the summer to help him recover from a shoulder injury and mistakenly neglected to check it against the NBA's banned list.
"As a player this is the worst situation that you want to be in," Turkoglu said. "I'm just sorry to put the organization in this situation. ... I should have double-checked and researched and shouldn't be in this situation."
He is the eighth player suspended for performance-enhancing drugs under the NBA's drug-testing policy. He is the second Magic player to be suspended for PEDs under the policy in four years. Former Magic forward Rashard Lewis was suspended for 10 games in 2009 after testing positive for an elevated testosterone level.
Turkoglu said he was tested by the league in December and learned of the suspension Tuesday night. General Manager Rob Hennigan said Turkoglu informed the team of the positive test a week ago.
Turkoglu sat out the Magic's last three games for what the team said were flu symptoms and a sore back. Hennigan said those ailments were legitimate and unrelated to the positive test.
It is the latest in a string of bad news for Turkoglu during the last year.
He sat out 10 games at the end of the last regular season because of a fractured bone above his eye and sat out 28 consecutive games at the start of this season after breaking a bone in a hand. He has appeared in only 11 games in 2012-13, with only one start.
Turkoglu is in the third year of his second stint with the Magic. He is averaging 2.9 points, 2.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds, all down from his career numbers over the previous 12 seasons.
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