The NBA announced on Friday that they have "dismissed" and "disqualified" Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo for violating the league's Anti-Drug Program. Mayo's suspension is for two years and he can apply to be reinstated afterwards.
Since the NBA, teams, and the Players Association are "prohibited from publicly disclosing information regarding the testing or treatment of any NBA player under the Anti-Drug Program," it is unclear what exactly caused Mayo's violation. Clearly Mayo must have tested positive for "a drug of abuse," which includes but is not limited to amphetamines, cocaine, LSD, PCP, heroin, codeine and morphine. Testing positive for one of those drugs warrants an automatic dismissal.
This is not Mayo's first drug violation. In 2011, he was suspended for 10 games for testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone, an over-the-counter steroid. This time around it's a much more serious offense.
Mayo was going to be a free agent this summer and has now obviously lost a considerable amount of money:
Not that there's a good time to get banned for drug abuse, but this is the worst time. One team exec says Mayo cost himself $30-$40M.
— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 1, 2016
Mayo's dismissal is the first in the NBA in close to 10 years. In 2006, Chris Andersen was dismissed for two years. Andersen was reinstated after those two years and has been part of the league ever since.
