NBA Star Bobby Portis Banned 25 Games for Accidentally Taking Illegal Drugs

When it comes to professional sports leagues, suspensions for violating the anti-drug policy aren’t all that uncommon. Typically, it’s not over some anabolic steroid either. And generally, the athlete busted claims it was all a misunderstanding. That’s what happened Thursday when the NBA suspended Bobby Portis for 25 games for taking tramadol. This particular case, though, seems to be an actual whoopsie where mixing up a few letters really tripped him up.

After testing positive for the drug tramadol, Portis’ agent spoke with ESPN and explained that it was a case of either misreading the word or mixing up a few letters, because Portis allegedly thought he was taking Toradol, not tramadol. Clearly, you can see where there may be a bit of confusion when you’re grabbing the bottle from the cabinet.

Mark Bartelstein, the agent for the Milwaukee Bucks’ big man, said he’s “devastated” for his client after an “honest mistake.” He said it was an unintentional mishap by Portis as he thought he was taking Toradol, an approved drug in the NBA, and not tramadol, which was recently added to the league’s list of banned substances. Both are pain medications that aid in dealing with inflammation.

Portis had a valid prescription for the banned drug that was given to him by an assistant, but that doesn’t matter in the league’s eyes. Bartelstein said the whole thing was “because of the similarity in the names of the drugs and the fact they both serve a very similar purpose.”

I can’t help but be reminded of the SpongeBob SquarePants scene where Patrick goes, “Oh, East? I thought you said Weast.” That had to be an awkward moment when Portis took another look at the pill bottle, then looked at the assistant who gave it to him.

As is always the case with a suspension, a player has the right to appeal the sentence, but Portis won’t be doing so here. As annoyed as he may be, and as silly as it may be that two drugs a little stronger than something like Tylenol (hey, seriously, why are all these painkillers starting with ‘T’ and ending with ‘ol’), he knows there’s no getting out of it.

He will be able to return on April 8 and have just four games left in the regular season to play. The Bucks will likely make the playoffs, as they are the current fifth seed.