After nearly two years of legal wrangling, former NBA player Roy Tarpley (44) settled a federal lawsuit against the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks in which he claimed the league and the team violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to reinstate him after a ban for drug use.  Tarpley said the lawsuit was not about trying to play again but about clearing his name. 

After failing drug test after drug test, being banned from the NBA and then returning, and failing another mandatory drug test which resulted in a permanent ban from the NBA, Tarpley filed a lawsuit in September 2007 arguing that the league and team discriminated against him on the basis of his disability as a recovering drug and alcohol abuser.

According to the lawsuit, "Tarpley is a qualified individual with a disability within the meaning of the ADA, in that he has a disability in the form of past drug and alcohol abuse, which substantially limits at least one of his major life activities.”

The lawsuit was settled by the league as a “nuisance” suit, with Tarpley collecting roughly $50,000 of the sought-after $6.5 million.

—Source:  Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)