OJ Mayo Disqualified from NBA

(photo credit: slamonline.com)

The NBA announced Friday afternoon that Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo has been dismissed and disqualified from the NBA, because he violated the league’s Anti-Drug Program. Mayo is suspended for a minimum of two years, before he can apply for reinstatement to the league. 

This means that Mayo could return for the start of the 2019-2020 NBA season. No further details have been released about what Mayo took, as teams, the NBA, and the Players Association are not allowed to disclose information regarding violations of the Anti-Drug Program. 

As stated in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, substances that are “drugs of abuse” are prohibited. Analogs, cocaine, LSD, opiates, and PCP are all substances that are banned by the Anti-Drug Program. According to the CBA, reinstatement is not guaranteed. Mayo was going to be a free agent this summer, but he now will have to wait at least two years to be a free agent once again. 

This is not the first time that Mayo has been caught with a violation of the Anti-Drug Program. In 2011, Mayo was suspended 10 games for taking dehydroepiandrosterone which is an over-the-counter steroid. However this time around, it seems to be a lot worse than what happened five years ago. Mayo’s dismissal from the league is the first one since 2006, when Memphis Grizzlies center Chris Andersen was suspended for two years. 

Andersen would return in 2008, which is some sort of good news for Mayo. The 28-year-old guard has spent the past three seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. Mayo averaged 7.8 points and 2.9 assists in 41 games last season. He was taken with the third overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, and he’s averaged 13.8 points and 2.9 assists per game in his career.