A former player in Japan's top American football league was given a suspended prison term Monday for smuggling cannabis into the country last year.
Benjamin Anderson, a 26-year-old American and former quarterback with the X-League's Panasonic Impulse, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, at the Osaka District Court.
Anderson smuggled 26 grams of dried cannabis via international mail from the United States in September, according to the ruling.
The court acknowledged Anderson's remorse and suspended his term, Judge Masashi Nagahashi said in handing down the ruling.
Anderson joined the team in April 2017 and was named that season's MVP. He was fired from the team after being arrested in November last year.