The recent episode of ‘Inside the NBA’ delved into the league’s 25-game suspension of Bobby Portis. During the conversation, Shaquille O’Neal empathized with Portis’ mistake by revealing his own history of accidental consumption.
Advertisement
ESPN reported on Thursday that the Bucks center had tested positive for Tramadol, a medicine that was classified as a performance-enhancing narcotic. However, Portis’ agent Mark Bartelstein clarified that his client had never intended to take the banned medicine.
The 30-year-old had a valid prescription for a different medication — Toradol — but was accidentally given Tramadol, an opioid, by his assistant. Portis still took accountability for not double-checking the medicine but Shaq, like many fans, was frustrated by the league’s response to this violation.
Not only will Portis have to miss 25 pivotal games, he will also remain unpaid during his suspension. O’Neal wasn’t happy with the decision as he believed the NBA failed to take all of the context into account. To illustrate his point, Shaq recalled how he had been victim to a similar faux pas during his playing days.
“Olympics, ’96 Atlanta. They told us not to eat before we take the drug test. You remember Chuck, they got us standing in line for 3-4 hours? I see them poppy seed muffins, I [ate them]. Horace Balmer come into the room, he said, ‘Man, I’m disappointed.’ I had tested positive for cocaine,” O’Neal revealed.
Shaq story on the time he false positive tested for cocaine in the 96 Olympics pic.twitter.com/cm9n1d59LT
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) February 21, 2025
Nearly every member of that 1996 USA roster had shared how grueling and time-consuming the drug testing was that year. In fact, Grant Hill even admitted that players were passing up on shots to avoid being tested after a dominant performance.
However, in Shaq’s case, the testing must have been doubly frustrating since it returned with a false positive. “I’ve never done nothing like that. Then they did the research and the poppy seed muffin had the same derivatives as cocaine,” the four-time NBA champion added.
Of course, O’Neal’s test result would be overturned and he would help Team USA secure the gold medal on their home ground. But he used his story to explain why the league needs to be nuanced when handing out such suspensions.
“That’s the only problem I have with the NBA. They tell you not to take this, this and that, but something that’s not on the list can be a derivative of something that you’re not supposed to take, and you could mess up that way.”
While that’s not exactly the issue Portis finds himself in, his situation was accidental as well. Due to an honest mistake involving two similar sounding medicines, the Bucks now find themselves without one of their biggest rotational players during their final push to the postseason.
