In an interesting turn of events, American tennis star Jenson Brooksby has received and accepted a provisional doping suspension after missing three drugs tests in 12 months.
Brooksby himself denies any wrongdoing but still accepted the suspension from the sport over the matter calling it the 'best decision' to make right now.
“Taking the provisional suspension is the best decision that we have to make right now,” Brooksby said in a telephone interview as per AP. “I’ve never failed a drug test. I’ve never taken any bad substances.”
He now plans to go to arbitration with the ITIA. Brooksby was banned as under antidoping rules, athletes can be penalized without a positive test if they have three whereabout failures within a year.
“‘Whereabouts’ is a pretty tough requirement for them, with how much they’re traveling,” said Howard Jacobs, a lawyer working with Brooksby. “There’s no allegations he took any banned substances and we’re confident about” the case’s outcome.
Same lawyer as Halep case expects outcome on side of Brooksby
He said he expects Brooksby to have his arbitration hearing in the coming months. Jacobs is the same lawyer representing Simona Halep who shockingly failed a test last year and has been proving her innocence then without a resolution.
Brooksby is currently off the court due to two operations for dislocated wrist tendons on both arms in March and May respectively and hasn't played since January defeating Casper Ruud in Australia.