Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis has reportedly been suspended 25 games for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy, after testing positive for a banned substance (per ESPN's Shams Charania).
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According to a statement put out by Portis' agent, Mark Bartelstein, this was all a big misunderstanding.
That is, Portis had taken Tramadol, which is a pain medication recently added to the banned substance list last year.
"I am devastated for Bobby right now because he made an honest mistake and the ramifications of it are incredibly significant," Bartelstein said. "...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."
He continued, "This was, again, an honest mistake that was made because of the similarity in the names of the drugs."
Evidently, this was being taken for anti-inflammatory purposes to help with the pain Portis had from an elbow injury he suffered at the beginning of the season.
"This has been incredibly difficult for him," Bartelstein said. "But he will accept this penalty with grace and turn this into a great opportunity to improve and further build his reputation performance in every way."
Certainly this is a big loss for the Bucks, who currently (pre All-Star break) have a 29-24 record, which ranks them as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Portis, who is averaging 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds this season, will be eligible to return on April 6, a game vs. the New Orleans Pelicans.
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