Hapoel Tel Aviv's Patrick Beverley and Johnathan Motley were drug tested after a win against Hapoel Jerusalem. The fact angered Hapoel Tel Aviv's owner Ofer Yannay, who called it out on X.
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in the Israeli Winner League on Sunday. After the game, two Tel Aviv's players, Patrick Beverley and Johnathan Motley, were drug tested, which sparked an angry reaction from the team's owner.
Beverley scored 13 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, made 3 steals, and dished out 5 assists for a game-leading 22 PIR in a 85-72 win. Motley, meanwhile, recorded 22 points and 18 PIR. Jerusalem's Austin Wiley and Jared Harper were drug tested as well.
Hapoel Tel Aviv's majority owner, Ofer Yannay, announced the matter on X, formerly Twitter, and declared he would seek more information about how the tests are determined. Additionally, he mentioned the case of Xavier Munford, who played for Hapoel Tel Aviv last season and tested positive in the middle of the season.
"Last year, Munford's career was almost wiped out with an early check. Xavier was then our best player, you can understand what the idea is. Tomorrow we will demand full transparency and protocols of the event. A public body cannot act secretly, and if there were extraneous considerations, people would be required to give answers," Yannay wrote.
The local anti-doping agency pushed back and claimed that organizations shouldn't put their own needs above the fairness of the sport:
The National Agency for the Prevention of Doping in Sports rejects the claims completely and clarifies that the testing policy is determined according to the WADA code and the risk assessments in the most professional manner and without any bias. All information is presented to WADA, which is the supervisory body.
The agency expects all official bodies to denounce every case of discovery of drugs and prohibited substances and to act in every way against it. Regarding the claim that they 'almost ruined Munford's career,' this is a wrong attempt to turn the perpetrator into a victim. Prohibited substances were found in Munford's body, and therefore, he is on trial.
The results of the tests are currently unclear.
