The league has put their foot down and this time it landed hard on Portis.
The NBA announced Thursday that it suspended Milwaukee Bucks power forward Bobby Portis Jr. for 25 games for testing positive for the painkiller Tramadol, which is an opiate. The suspension will begin immediately as the Bucks host Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday night and expires on April 6.
Portis will be eligible to return on April 8 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with four games remaining on the schedule.
The suspension was not eligible to be appealed and is without pay.
In a statement released by the Bucks, Portis said: “I was dealing with an elbow injury and using an NBA-approved medication for pain and inflammation. During that time, I made an honest mistake and took a pain-reducing anti-inflammatory pill that is not approved. I feel horrible and recognize that I’m responsible for what I put in my body. From the bottom of my heart, I want to apologize to the Bucks organization, my teammates, coaches, family, and fans. I give everything I have on the court and will terribly miss playing games for the Bucks during this time. I will continue to work hard and be ready for our long playoff run. Thank you for your support. I appreciate it more than you know.”
Portis sat out the November 13 game against the Detroit Pistons after experiencing pain and discomfort in his elbow during warmups.
Embed from Getty Images“This is a very difficult set of circumstances for Bobby and our team,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement provided by the organization. “He and the Bucks franchise respect the NBA/NBAPA Anti-Drug Program and will accept what’s been handed down. But we 100% support Bobby. Together we will take this opportunity to grow and will have a better and stronger Bobby and Milwaukee Bucks team. He’s an integral part of who we are, a huge member of the Milwaukee community, and we look forward to his return.”
Portis’ agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, also put out a lengthy statement on Portis’ behalf to further dive into what occurred.
Bartelstein wrote, in part, “I am devastated for Bobby right now because he made an honest mistake and the ramifications of it are incredibly significant. Bobby unintentionally took a pain medication called Tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol.”
Bartelstein went on to state that Toradol is an approved pain medication while Tramadol was banned by the league before the season began.
The agent also said Portis took the legally prescribed Tramadol from his assistant.
“Bobby is a great person, teammate and professional, and has a wonderful reputation in our league, his communities, and his team,” Bartelstein wrote. “There are no bigger fans of the NBA than Bobby and I, and we are grateful to have closely and collaboratively worked with the NBA on countless occasions.
“We support the league’s anti-drug policy and its purpose in having a fair, competitive, healthy landscape for our athletes as it relates to drugs of abuse, performance enhancing issues, etc. Bobby Portis is absolutely not a drug abuser. 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 has been the heartbeat of the team, averaging 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in 46 games, ranking sixth in scoring and second in boards off the bench among NBA players. He has finished top 3 in voting for the Sixth Man of the Year award over the last two seasons, and he has scored the second-most points for a reserve in the last three years.
The suspension is a devastating blow to the Bucks, who sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference at 29-24 and now lose one of the NBA’s premier sixth men. The Bucks have one open roster spot to make an immediate move while Portis will lose $2.85 million with the 25-game suspension.
