Videos appear to show suspended Reds prospect's drug use
Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Ian Kahaloa was suspended 50 games after violation of Major League Baseball's minor league drug program and the team says it's concerned after a video appeared on social media allegedly showing Kahaloa using drugs.
Kahaloa's suspension was for a second positive drug test.
A video posted on Snapchat was made public in March and appears to show Kahaloa snorting a white substance.
"We're obviously really concerned," Reds player development director Jeff Graupe told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We're working to get Ian the help and assistance that we believe he needs to get his long-term future to a more stable place. We're kind of putting the baseball on the backburner."
There are four total videos that were posted Kahaloa's Snapchat account, and it appears that they were all recorded by someone else.
Kahala was a fifth-round pick by Cincinnati in 2015 and was playing for the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League at the time of his suspension. He will miss the majority of the season as the Mustangs season is only 75 games long.
“Any time you have a situation like this, or really anything with a negative connotation, the first thing you address is the situation itself,” Graupe said. “This isn’t necessarily a social media problem. It’s let’s address the lifestyle and not put ourselves in those positions. Then from there, there is the message of that in the modern day, there’s fewer closed doors.”
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