Is the a₀(1450) a candidate for the lowest qbar{q} ³P₀ state?

For the $a_0(1450)$, considered as the $q\bar{q} 1^3P_0$ state, "experimental" tensor splitting, $c_{exp}=(-150\pm 40$) MeV, appears to be in contradiction with conventional theory of fine structure. There is no such discrepancy if the $a_0(980)$ belongs to the $1^3P_J q\bar{q}$ multiplet. The hadronic shift of the $a_0(980)$ is shown to be strongly dependent on the value of the strong coupling in spin-dependent interaction.