Smoothie King, Who Bought Naming Rights to Pelicans Arena, Had Products Test Positive for PEDs

In order to finalize its naming rights agreement for the Pelicans arena in New Orleans, health drink chain Smoothie King had to ensure that its products all adhered to the NBA’s drug testing policy. As Jed Lipinski documents at Nola.com, this wasn’t a formality:

"According to Rocky Gettys, Smoothie King’s vice president of product development, some of the retail products found on Smoothie King’s shelves were found to contain substances on the NBA’s prohibited list. The substances included two steroid hormones: dehydroepiandrosterone, commonly known as DHEA, and androstenedione, made famous by home run king Mark McGwire, who said he took the over-the-counter muscle enhancer before it was banned by Major League Baseball in 2004."

Gettys claims that the banned elements were found in over-the-counter supplements as opposed to being included in the chain’s smoothies. Nevertheless, the nightmare scenario of an NBA player getting busted for a product he bought from a league sponsor is enough to justify the arduous process Smoothie King has to go through to officialize its naming rights.

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[H/T Field of Schemes]