COLORADO SPRINGS — A convenience store clerk who remembered selling a sexual enhancement product to LaShawn Merritt helped the Olympic gold medalist earn a stunning anti-doping victory, albeit only a partial one.
In a decision released Monday, a three-person U.S. arbitration panel declared Merritt’s three positive steroid tests last fall and winter were caused by accidental ingestion.
Calling the clerk who provided details of Merritt’s purchasing habits “devastatingly convincing” and the evidence in Merritt’s favor “overwhelming,” the arbitration panel declared Merritt should get a three-month reduction of the mandatory two-year ban for steroids use.
“While I acknowledge that I made a mistake . . . I have never taken any substance to gain an advantage on the track,” Merritt said. “I look forward to returning to competition as soon as possible and proving that my prior successes . . . were achieved honestly and fairly.”
The reduction, which is retroactive to last October, is significant because it allows Merritt, the reigning Olympic and world champion in the 400-meter sprint, to return to competition July 27 — in time for the world championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Magic sells stake in Lakers
LOS ANGELES — Magic Johnson sold his small ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Patrick Soon-Shiong, possibly clearing the way for the Hall of Famer to own a bigger portion of another NBA team in the future.
Johnson bought shares representing about 4.5 percent of the Lakers in June 1994 for a reported $10 million. Johnson said the sale was strictly a “bittersweet business decision,” but the five-time league champion has long been interested in taking a larger ownership role in an NBA franchise.
NHL suspends Coyotes’ Doan
TORONTO — The NHL suspended Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan for three games after a blindside hit to the head of Anaheim’s Dan Sexton. Doan will lose more than $73,000 in salary as a result of the suspension.
Meanwhile, Ducks rookie defenseman Cam Fowler is expected to play in Wednesday night’s game at Columbus despite breaking his nose in a collision with Doan during Sunday’s 3-2 victory.
• Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier is day to day with a right hand injury.
• The movement for change in hockey comes before a medical conference today at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where representatives from the NHL down to youth leagues will meet to discuss recommendations aimed to reduce the occurrence of concussions and other serious injuries, primarily in youth hockey.
Footnotes.
Kohei Uchimura led Japan to 361.4 points and the early lead at the world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The United States is second at 357.092, with Britain third at 357.033.
• James E. Fuchs, who developed a new way to heave the shot to compensate for a leg injury and won bronze medals at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, died in Manhattan on Oct. 8. He was 82.
Denver Post wire services
