Basketball player Donell Cooper has been suspended for fraud

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Pro Basketball player Donell ‘D.J’ Cooper has been suspended by FIBA after a failed drug test revealed he was pregnant.

Cooper had been playing in Europe where he had allegedly left club AS Monaco in 2018 because  of ‘family reasons.’  However, it was revealed that Cooper, whilst trying to join the Bosnian national team as a naturalised player, had undertaken a urine test and failed.

Officials were shocked to find that the sample provided contained the hormone - human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which is a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy. It had been reported that the sample belonged to his girlfriend who was likely unaware she was pregnant.

The international basketball federation, FIBA, consequently suspended Cooper for fraud. He will be eligible to return to the game in June 2020.

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