Nick Delpopolo, the Westfield native who nearly collected a bronze medal in the 73kg judo competition, has been disqualified from the London Olympics, the United States Olympic Committee announced today, due to a failed drug test.

Though the IOC suggested that the International Judo Federation “consider” further punishments, it is unclear it will ban the country’s top-ranked 73 kg judoka from future competitions.

Delpopolo, who returned home to the Albany area from London with his girlfriend last night, said through his publicist that he had eaten marijuana brownies baked by a female family member several weeks before the Olympics.

“I had no idea that I had ingested marijuana until that moment,” Delpopolo’s statement said. “I slept the entire four-hour drive home the day I ate the brownie, but thought that I was just extremely tired from training and travel.”

The statement added that his family member sent a confession letter to the Olympic committees yesterday.

Delpopolo’s statement concluded, “Words cannot express how devastated and remorseful I am for making such a big mistake. Although my actions were not deliberate, I know that I let down the entire nation, and for that I am truly sorry.”

The 23-year-old Delpopolo became a rising star in judo after his wrestling career ended with a torn knee ligament during his sophomore year at Bergen Catholic. Within months, his parents sent him to live with and train under former Olympic silver medalist Jason Morris in upstate New York.

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Morris hadn’t spoken with Delpopolo as of last night, but he gave his protégé his full support.

“Not to make light of this, but these are not performance-enhancing drugs — they’re just dumb,” Morris said.

“If you watch the Olympics, you often hear track commentators say ‘This guy is recovering from a two-year ban for PEDs.’ And you think, ‘Good, he’s come back strong.’

We don’t know what the penalties will be — hopefully, they will be lenient. But I know he’s strong enough to get his life together — get his schooling done, further himself as a person, and train his butt off in those years. And he’ll come back stronger than ever.”

Delpopolo’s mother learned the news from her son’s phone call while she was in Sarajevo with her husband visiting an old friend.

“He was extremely upset,” Joyce Delpopolo said. “All I know is it’s not a risk Nick would knowingly take.

“We’re all obviously very upset by this, but it’s his plan to stay in judo, stay in training, and still train for 2016. He’ll do whatever Judo USA tells him to do. He will do whatever he needs to do to move on from this.”

Delpopolo finished seventh in his weight class in London, and was tested immediately after losing in the repechage bracket to Nyam-Ochir Sainjargal of Mongolia on July 30.

According to the IOC, Delpopolo waived his right to a hearing on the case.

The USOC announced the test result in a statement, which read:

“Nick Delpopolo has failed an in-competition drug test (THC, marijuana) and as a result, he has been disqualified from the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee. The United States Olympic Committee is absolutely committed to clean competition and stringent anti-doping penalties. Any positive test, for any banned substance, comes with the appropriate consequences and we absolutely support the disqualification. We look forward to witnessing the continued success of our athletes and commend their dedication to clean sport.”

The athlete’s publicist, Melissa Ingram, said the letter from family member to the Olympic committees includes the plea that Delpopolo “should not be downgraded or punished for my selfishness and stupidity. I couldn’t have imagined this ever happening. He is one of the best judoka and people you could ever want to meet, and by all means does not deal with any illegal substances.”

The family has agreed not to name the brownie baker.