{"id":334027,"date":"2025-12-08T02:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/334027\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T02:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:42:09","slug":"south-east-melbourne-phoenixs-akech-aliir-banned-after-positive-for-cannabis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/334027\/","title":{"rendered":"South East Melbourne Phoenix\u2019s Akech Aliir banned after positive for cannabis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It has been revealed that South East Melbourne Phoenix forward Akech Aliir \u2014 the younger brother of AFL veteran Aliir Aliir \u2014 had been handed a one-month NBL suspension after testing positive for cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkbasketball-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-basketball-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sports Integrity Australia confirmed the ban in a statement, revealing Aliir returned a positive result for Carboxy-THC during a controlled doping test on June 15, 2025. <\/p>\n<p>THC is classified under Class S8 (Cannabinoids) on the World Anti-Doping Code \u2013 Prohibited List 2025. It is banned in-competition only and is considered a Specified Substance.<\/p>\n<p>Aliir, 25, has played 32 NBL games with Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix, where he is currently averaging 4.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists.<\/p>\n<p>Aliir\u2019s suspension was reduced after he agreed to participate in a Substance of Abuse Treatment Program overseen by SIA.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765088290_713_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>He was ineligible to participate in any sports that have adopted a World Anti-Doping Code compliant anti-doping policy between 28 August 2025 and 27 September 2025. He was also not permitted to compete in a non-signatory professional league, or event organised by a non-signatory International or National level event organisation.<\/p>\n<p>South East Melbourne Phoenix also released a statement acknowledging the ruling:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSouth East Melbourne Phoenix acknowledges the sanction imposed upon Akech Aliir by Basketball Australia. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sanction came as a result of an adverse finding provided June 15, 2025, while Aliir was playing NBL1. <\/p>\n<p>Aliir complied with the obligations and processes in accordance with Basketball Australia\u2019s requirements. The club provided support to Aliir in accordance with this policy and requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Akech Aliir has been suspended one-month for a drug violation.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Fox Sports Australia spoke with Aliir\u2019s agent, Dimitrios Kazanis of Alliance Athletic Management, who addressed the situation:<br \/>\u201cAkech failed a drug test for cannabis during the NBL1 South Season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has already served his one-month suspension and completed a course, in compliance with Sports Integrity Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Since returning from suspension, Akech has continued to thrive with the South East Melbourne Phoenix (SEM) and is in excellent form. <\/p>\n<p>He is solely focused on performing at an elite level and competing for a NBL Championship.\u201c he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been revealed that South East Melbourne Phoenix forward Akech Aliir \u2014 the younger brother of AFL&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-334027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}