Milwaukee Bucks star Bobby Portis has been suspended by the NBA by the NBA for 25 games after violating the anti-drug policy of the competition.
According to NBA -Sinsider Chris Haynes, Portis unknowingly took this substance with which he will miss anything but the last four games of the regular season. He is eligible to return for a match of 8 April against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A statement released by the agent of Portis, Mark Bartelstein, says that the 30-year-old accidentally took Tramadol-a substance that was recently banned by the NBA last spring.
Portis was under the assumption that he used Toradol, a painkillers that are cleaned up by the competition.
“The tramadol pill he took came from an assistant from him, with a valid recipe for the painkiller, of which he wrongly told that Bobby Toradol was,” said Bartelstein.
'This was again an honest mistake that was made because of the parable in the names of the drugs and the fact that they both serve a very similar purpose. Bobby used this anti -inflammatory pain reduction of pain to tackle an elbow injury he had last fall and believed that he took Toradol to relieve some pain in preparation for the competition of that night. '
Bobby Portis van de Bucks has been suspended 25 games for violating the NBA drug policy
The Portis agent says that he accidentally took a forbidden painkiller – Tramadol – who has a similar name as Toradol, a medicine approved by the NBA for pain management
Bartelstein added that his client was a “great person, teammate and professional and has a wonderful reputation in our competition, his communities and his team.”
Later in the statement, Bartelstein said that he and his client both support the drug policy of the competition.
He added: 'Bobby Portis is absolutely not a drug abuse. Bobby works tirelessly on increasing his performance on all natural, legal, healthy ways, but he made a mistake and took a pill that he would not have to have unknowingly.
“Today, in this case, I am so deeply disappointed that the NBA chooses to interpret its policy so strictly, and that the policy does not allow any other results for a fair error with pure intentions.”
Tramadol was added to the 2024 list with forbidden medicines by WADA – The World Anti -Doping Agency – after research studies discovered that it had to improve sports performance.
An article from USADA – the Anti -Dopingbureau of the United States – in 2017 emphasized the addictive tendencies of the narcotic painkiller that was common at the time for the unbridled use of bicycles. Studies eventually led to his ban through WADA and then by the NBA in 2024.
Portis has never been suspended by the NBA for drug -related problems.
This season Portis has an average of 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per match over 25.2 minutes per match. The bucks are currently fifth in the classification of the Eastern Conference.
