CBA Ban on Lewis Lloyd Upheld

The Continental Basketball Assn. was justified in banning Lewis Lloyd from the league because of the former NBA player’s past drug use, a judge has ruled.

“The league lives or dies with its image,” Linn County District Judge William Thomas wrote in his ruling issued Wednesday.

“The league is not interested in having an image as an ‘outlaw’ league full of people who have been banned for life from the nation’s most prominent basketball league for drug use.”

Lloyd, 29, was banned from the NBA after he tested positive for cocaine use in January, 1987, when he was a guard for the Houston Rockets. He can apply for readmission to the NBA in March but must wait for league approval. In the meantime, the former Drake star had hoped to sharpen his skills with the Cedar Rapids Bullets of the CBA.

Lloyd sued after CBA Commissioner Jay Ramsdell refused to allow him to play in the league. Lloyd’s suit said Ramsdell’s decision was arbitrary and violated federal antitrust laws.