The NBA has suspended Bobby Portis for 25 games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, the league announced Thursday, sidelining him for almost the rest of the season.
The Bucks forward tested positive for the drug tramadol, a medication used to treat severe pain among adults. It is an instance that his representative, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, said was an accident.
“I am devastated for Bobby right now because he made an honest mistake and the ramifications of it are incredibly significant,” Bartelstein told ESPN.
“Bobby unintentionally took a pain medication called tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol. Toradol is an approved pain medication that he has used previously and that teams and players use for pain and inflammation at times. Tramadol, however, is not an approved pain medication and was just recently added to the banned substance list this past spring. The tramadol pill he took came from an assistant of his, with a valid prescription for the painkiller, which he mistakenly told Bobby was Toradol. This was, again, an honest mistake that was made because of the similarity in the names of the drugs and the fact they both serve a very similar purpose. Bobby was using this anti-inflammatory pain-reducing medication to deal with an elbow injury he had this past fall and believed he was taking Toradol to alleviate some pain in preparation for that night’s game.”
The statement went on to explain Portis’ great reputation around the league and confirm he doesn’t abuse drugs.
“Bobby Portis is absolutely not a drug abuser,” Bartelstein continued. “Bobby works tirelessly on increasing his performance in all natural, legal, healthy ways, but he made a mistake and took a pill that unknowingly he should not have.
“Today, in this instance, I am so deeply disappointed that the NBA chooses to interpret its policy so strictly, and that the policy does not allow for a different result for an honest mistake with pure intentions.”
Portis “will accept this penalty with grace,” the statement said.
The 2021 champion will be eligible to return on April 8 against the Timberwolves – with just four games left in the regular season.
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