Many basketball fans want to know what is Tramadol after Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks was suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. The forward tested positive for tramadol, an opioid typically used as pain medication, as announced on Thursday, February 20, per ESPN. Portis’s representative, Mark Bartelstein, says that this was “an honest mistake” and that he accidentally took Tramadol instead of the similar-sounding pain medication Toradol. Here’s a breakdown of what Tramadol is and why it’s banned as a prohibited substance in the NBA.
Why is Tramadol banned in the NBA?
Tramadol is banned in the NBA because, like many other opioids, it enhances physical performance while adversely impacting the athlete’s health.
As noted by Bartelstein, Tramadol was added recently to the league’s banned substance list in the spring of 2024. While the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) does not oversee the NBA directly, it released a notice in late 2023 that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had added Tramadol to its prohibited list of substances. As of January 1, 2024, the drug was officially classified by WADA as a performance-enhancing narcotic, which likely contributed to the NBA to add it to its own list of prohibited drugs rather promptly afterward.
Bartelstein says that the tramadol pill Bobby Portis took came from his assistant who made the mistake of telling him that it was Toradol, a drug that has been approved by the NBA as a painkiller. Portis has a valid prescription for Toradol.
Still, as a result of this “unintentional” mistake, Portis has been suspended without pay for 25 games. His suspension, which he will not appeal, will begin with tonight’s game between the Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. He will be able to return to the team very late in the regular season on April 8 when the Bucks face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In other Bucks news, forward Kyle Kuzma announced his engagement to Winnie Harlow after dating for several years.
