Korean basketball league may permanently ban American player

The South Korean women's professional basketball league is considering permanently banning and erasing the statistics of a star American player accused of forging birth documents in a bid to qualify to compete in the domestic competition.

The KEB Hana Bank team's records for its run to the 2015-16 finals could potentially also be removed if prosecutors prove in court that Chelsey Lee fraudulently claimed a South Korean heritage, league spokesman Kim Ilku said Thursday.

WKBL teams can each have two foreign players who face limitations in playing minutes in each game. But foreign-born players with a parent or a grandparent who was a South Korean national don't count against the quota or face playing time restrictions.