The NBA has suspended Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis for 25 games after he tested positive for Tramadol, a prescription painkiller banned under the league’s anti-drug policy, per an official announcement Thursday. The suspension will keep the 2021 NBA champion sidelined for most of the regular season’s remainder. Portis’ agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, maintains that the situation was an honest mistake.
“I am devastated for Bobby right now because he made an honest mistake,” Bartelstein told ESPN. “Bobby unintentionally took Tramadol, thinking he was taking Toradol, an NBA-approved pain medication he has used before.”
Tramadol was only recently added to the NBA’s banned substances list last summer. According to Bartelstein, Portis received the pill from an assistant with a valid prescription, who mistakenly told him it was Toradol—a commonly used anti-inflammatory pain reliever for players dealing with injuries. Portis, who has been battling an elbow injury since the fall, believed he was taking Toradol before a game to manage pain.
The suspension is a major blow for Milwaukee, as Portis plays a crucial role in the team’s frontcourt rotation. The setback may help keep Portis in Milwaukee, as it comes amidst recent trade talks. The Bucks, currently jostling for seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff race, will have to navigate the next two months without their energetic sixth man.
While Portis’ suspension was not performance-enhancing drug-related, the NBA’s strict policy leaves no room for accidental infractions. With 25 games on the sidelines, the veteran big man will now have to wait until late in the season to rejoin his team—just in time for a playoff push.
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