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NBA veteran O.J. Mayo is facing a two-year suspension for violating the league’s drug policy.
Whatever drug O.J. Mayo was ingesting in his body, here is hoping he enjoyed it. It is going to cost the free-agent literally millions of dollars.
Mayo, who played for Milwaukee last season, was suspended by the NBA for two-years for violating the NBA/NBAPA Anti-Drug program. He won’t be able to apply for reinstatement back into the league for two years.
Mayo was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. After averaging 18 points a game in his rookie season, Mayo has disappointed. He has spent time playing in Dallas and Milwaukee. Mayo has been a decent player (13.8 points career average), but nothing like the star Memphis envisioned when they drafted him. Mayo is/was a player with enormous talent, that just hasn’t been able to find consistency as a pro. Nonetheless, he is a veteran performer who would have likely cashed in with a multi-million dollar contract in this current free agent period. That opportunity is now gone.
Were drugs the problem behind his up and down play? That is something Mayo can only answer.
Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised that Mayo has a history with drugs. Drugs are an omni-present part of our society. There are men and women of every human endeavor whose lives are impacted by drugs….doctors, lawyers, teachers, ministers.
The only real difference is Mayo is a professional athlete who earns millions. Of course, we always ask why in the world a pro athlete would risk putting such a lucrative career in danger.
It’s the same reason why a father of a middle-class family would put his family in jeopardy by becoming addicted to drugs, or alcohol.
It is the addiction and the sickness that causes the poor decisions. The down side is those decisions often hurts far many more people than just the person who is making the choice.
Only Mayo, and the NBA , will know for sure what his issues are with drugs. The only thing that is sure is that O.J. Mayo, 28, who had an opportunity to be a great player, has two years to decide what he wants to do: Be a pro basketball player, or continue to do drugs.
