Samake Is Suspended Because of Steroid Tests

Laker center Soumaila Samake was suspended for five games Tuesday because he violated the terms of the league’s steroids policy, two positive tests Samake and the team claimed resulted from an over-the-counter supplement he ingested this summer.

Though the Lakers were short Shaquille O’Neal and Mark Madsen along their front line, and have Robert Horry and Samaki Walker suffering from minor injuries, Samake played only 48 minutes in seven games, and four minutes in the last two. He averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds.

In a statement released by his Florida-based agent, Samake said he tested for nandrolone, a steroid. He maintained that an “extensive� workout and nutritional program had included a supplement that contained the steroid, though he claimed nandrolone was not listed as an ingredient on the supplement’s package.

Samake, a 7-foot, 245-pound native of Mali, will be eligible to return against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 22.

Coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday the club knew Samake would test positive with the league, and warned the league of it, though team officials believed it would be for a banned substance listed among the supplement’s ingredients, and not nandrolone. Apparently, the supplement had been recommended by a trainer in Miami.

In fact, Jackson said, evidence of a questionable supplement arose during a training camp physical, at which point team officials told Samake to show them the product. The team then notified the league of the possible problem. A second test, perhaps two weeks after the first, confirmed the finding of nandrolone.

“I know he feels bad,� O’Neal said. “It’s an honest mistake. It’s a guy trying to get strong because he knows I’m going to bust his [butt] every day.

“He didn’t know. He’s a foreigner. I forgive him.�

The Lakers had presumed a suspension -- unpaid -- for Samake, but, Jackson said, “We thought it might be a game.�

“It’s such an obtuse thing,� Jackson said. “There’s so many things going on right know, that I think it was difficult to ferret it out.

“You have a rule. You have to execute the rule. We agree with the suspension.... Unfortunately, it’s a player that has limited capabilities, what we would call a marginal player, so it’s unfortunate.�

Violation of the steroid policy, however, brings an automatic five-game suspension. General Manager Mitch Kupchak said he felt badly for Samake, whose grasp of English is limited.

“The net that was set up to catch violators, this was not its intended victim,� Kupchak said. “He’s a victim of the system.�

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O’Neal will be examined by Dr. Robert Mohr today. Tuesday’s examination was put off a day.... Jackson’s longest losing streak as a coach is five games, from Feb. 26-March 6, 1994, with the Chicago Bulls.