Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis suspended twenty five games for violating NBA’s anti-drug policy
Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis suspended twenty five games for violating NBA’s anti-drug policy
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Bobby Portis won’t be eligible to return for your Bucks until finally April eight. (Picture by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis was suspended twenty five video games with no purchase violating the NBA’s anti-drug application, the league announced Thursday. He examined constructive for Tramadol.
Portis’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, introduced an announcement saying the violation was effectively a mix-up. Bartelstein claimed Portis believed he was having a ache medication known as Toradol, and that is accredited, but instead took Tramadol, which is not. The assertion reported Portis was offered the incorrect medication by an assistant of his, and it had been “an honest oversight.”
“Bobby Portis is totally not a drug abuser,” Bartelstein wrote. “Bobby operates tirelessly on escalating hisperformance in all all-natural, lawful and wholesome ways, but he built a blunder and took a pill that unknowingly he must not have. These days, In this particular instance, I'm so deeply disappointed that the NBA chooses to interpret its policy so strictly, and that the coverage would not allow for a unique final result for an genuine blunder with pure intentions.”
In a statement unveiled with the Bucks, Portis reported, “I really feel horrible and acknowledge that I’m accountable for what I put in my body. From the bottom of my coronary heart, I need to apologize to the Bucks Business, my teammates, coaches, relatives and enthusiasts. I give all the things I have around the court docket and will terribly miss enjoying video games with the Bucks all through this time.”
Bucks basic supervisor Jon Horst mentioned that while “that is a very difficult set of instances for Bobby and our workforce … we a hundred% assistance Bobby.”
The twenty five-sport suspension would make Portis ineligible to return until the Bucks’ April eight dwelling activity versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. Which includes that recreation, the Bucks would have just four normal-year video games remaining. Milwaukee at present sits in fifth place in the Eastern Convention, 1 activity back of the Indiana Pacers.
Portis has played in forty six online games for the Bucks this season, averaging twenty five.2 minutes, 13.7 factors and 8.three rebounds for each game.