Brooks exit shock foreign players must confirm the use of cannabis when importing.
On August 9, a day before the opening of the second half, two shocking news was delivered to the KBO League. In the morning, the news of drunken driving by Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Song Woo-hyun surprised people, and in the afternoon, it was announced that Kia Tigers’ foreign pitcher Aaron Brooks was kicked out for marijuana problems.
“E-cigarettes ordered by Brooks in the U.S. online were detected during customs inspection on the 8th and will be investigated,” KIA said. “We plan to ask the KBO to disclose voluntary withdrawal.” Kia immediately reported the fact to the KBO Clean Baseball Center.
Fans as well as Kia’s club are shocked at the news that Brooks, who is no other player, has been kicked out due to drug problems. Brooks, who debuted in the KBO league last year, was the best foreign player with both skills and personality. He was loved by fans for his overwhelming skills and good manners, and when he left the team for a while due to his child’s accident during the season, all KIA fans worried as if it was his own business. He was also highly welcomed when he renewed his contract ahead of this season. It is surprising that such a player’s related search word “Cannabis” appeared.
Customs ‘investigation’ alone is the reason for immediate eviction “considering drug severity, customs investigation specificity”
Brooks is the first professional baseball player to be kicked out due to drug problems. In 1991, Lotte coach Jang Myung-bu and Yeungnam University coach Sung Nak-soo were arrested for habitual use of methamphetamine, but they were retired players. After this incident, KBO took and inhaled psychotropic drugs and cannabis. It has established a code that permanently expels professional baseball players, coaches and coaching staff who are caught.
In the case of professional basketball, there have been several cases in which foreign players have been kicked out due to drugs. In 2002, 10 people, including Jackie Jones, were permanently expelled for using marijuana and hashfish at an Itaewon restaurant. In 2009, three people, DAngelo Collins, Tarence Shannon and Calvin Warner, were indicted without detention for smoking marijuana in a hotel room in Gangnam, Seoul.
In a nearby Japanese baseball league, there was a case of marijuana eviction last season. Jay Jackson, a foreign pitcher who played as the league’s top set-up man from 2016 to 2018, was arrested by police on charges of possession of marijuana, which turned the baseball world upside down. Since then, all players and coaches of the Chiba Lotte Marines had to experience humiliation.
Brooks has not been found guilty of using or possessing drugs directly as in the previous cases. Brooks says he feels unfair. He claimed through the club, “We know cannabis is illegal in Korea, and we ordered e-cigarettes in question because we thought they had no cannabis ingredients.” It is said that it was ordered without knowing and that it was not used in Korea.
However, KIA responded firmly and quickly. Although he was only investigated by customs, not by police or prosecutors, he decided to leave immediately. “If it was other deviant acts such as drinking and gambling, it is right to decide after watching the police investigation and other situations,” a Kia official said. However, we considered the seriousness of the drug problem.
In addition, the government also considered that customs officials are “special judicial police” who have the right to investigate various crimes committed during customs clearance. Although the judgment of the law enforcement agency has not been made, KIA believes that the charges should be confirmed to some extent just by customs investigation.
However, considering the fact that the investigation process is still underway, KIA treated Brooks as an “arbitrary withdrawal” rather than a wafer announcement. In the event of a voluntary withdrawal, the club will have the right to hold the competitor for five years. If the investigation later reveals Brooks’ innocence, no other club can take Brooks. Subsequent procedures such as permanent eviction are to be decided by the KBO committee after the investigation agency concludes.
