After Milwaukee beat the LA Clippers on Thursday night in the first game back from all-star break, several Bucks players expressed sympathy and a little bit of shock over the 25-game suspension handed to Bobby Portis that had been announced earlier in the day.

Portis took a banned painkiller and began the suspension by missing the Clippers game.

Every Bucks player made himself available to talk in the post-game locker room or podium, before they had to catch a late night plane to Washington D.C for the second of their back-to-back games.

The reaction was especially supportive for Portis.

“I think everybody was surprised, because I’ve been around Bobby, and I know he’s not a guy that ever takes any illegal substance,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo. “Had the opportunity to talk with the team and coaching staff, and they explained to me – and also Bobby, that it was an honest mistake.

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“Sometimes you’re in that position. You have people around you that you trust blindly, and they might want the best for you, but they can make a mistake. So he made a mistake, and I think he understands that. And I believe, because I know Bobby, that he feels, probably that he’s letting the team down. And, he probably, maybe, he might be embarrassed.”

Antetokounmpo said he expects Portis, knowing his competitive spirit, will be ready to for his return in April right before the playoffs.

The costly error by Portis leaves the Bucks without their reliable sixth man as they fight from fifth place in the Eastern Conference for a playoff berth with new faces on the team.

“Everybody knows Bobby and his character, and he’s bummed that it happened,” said guard A.J. Green. “…But he’s still going to be around. His voice matters to us. I know he’s going to bring that as a team. We still got to find a way to win games. And then when he comes back, Bobby will hop right back into what we do, and we’ll keep on winning.”

It’s up to the player to use the team resources and check with the team for anything that’s banned. When asked directly, two Milwaukee Bucks said while they sympathize with Portis, they also make sure that they check all medicine and supplements first. Only Portis can say why he took a prescription pain medication from a personal assistant. Other players said they go through the Bucks team nutritionist, or training staff, to verify any medicine or supplement before intake.

Antetokounmpo maybe half-jokingly said he even checks his vitamin C and zinc.

“Because at the end of the day, there’s a banned list, which gets updated every single year,” said Antetokounmpo. “And things that (weren’t) banned last year are banned this year. So you just got to be very, very aware of things that you consume. We are professional athletes, so we have to take that serious.

“We love Bobby. Can’t wait for him to come back with the team and get the ball rolling again.”

The lengthy list of banned substances is unfamiliar for most people. Even though there are two poster-sized signs right inside the entry doorway of the Bucks locker room reminding players to check their medicine and supplements for approval, the list of medicines on one poster is massive and the font-print is small. It even includes a drug called Tamoxifen – and that’s typically a medicine to treat breast cancer patients.

While the league is creating a level playing field, the Bucks could understand confusion – his agent said he took tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol – and gave Portis the benefit of the doubt for the mixup.

“You know, it sucks. I don’t think it’s the most fair thing. Obviously, none of it was intentional, habitual or anything like that. It’s an honest mistake,” said center Brook Lopez.

“We’re obviously going to be there to support him, and he’s here supporting us. He always has, you know, he just wasn’t here tonight, but he’s still supporting us.”

Tramadol is a type of opioid that is used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain in adults. Tramadol has been classified as a class IV controlled substance by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which means it has a low potential for abuse or dependence. Other similar class IV medications include Ambien, Xanax and Valium.

A source told the Journal Sentinel that Portis failed the drug test around Thanksgiving.

Messages to the player’s union were not returned as of the publishing of this story. But Pat Connaughton, who is the team rep for the Bucks, said the union always has players’ backs.

Officials for the NBA may have privately felt empathy for Portis’ situation, but they were not willing to set a precedent to make an exception to his 25-game suspension by taking Portis’ word for it that it was an mistake.

“I made an honest mistake and took a pain-reducing anti-inflammatory pill that is not approved. I feel horrible and recognize that I’m responsible for what I put in my body,” said Portis in a team-released statement.

“This was as big of a mistake as can be made. But it’s a mistake,” said coach Doc Rivers.

And while the NBA does have a way to appeal a positive drug test, it doesn’t appear Portis pursued it; he made the admission of taking the banned medicine.

“There is an appeals process, but the danger of that is too great to take. I’ll just leave it there,” said Rivers.

The way Portis’ agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports responded to the suspension, it was clear that Portis’ camp felt the punishment did not fit the crime. But Portis accepted the suspension of 25 games rather than try to appeal for a lesser sentence.

“I am so deeply disappointed that the NBA chooses to interpret its policy so strictly, and that the policy does not allow for a different result for an honest mistake with pure intentions,” said Bartelstein.

Portis is beloved by Bucks and sports fans for his ‘Under Dog‘ personality off the court, too. He embraced Milwaukee immediately. He’s known for his humor, his call-it-straight comments and even does Public Service announcements for safe driving with the ‘Control Your Drive’ campaign – a commercial spot that aired on radio during a timeout of the Bucks-Clippers game Thursday night as Milwaukee was rallying for a comeback. But Portis has had a difficult season even before this happened.

His grandmother passed away, and he missed about two weeks and six games of play.

He’d been the target of a home theft Nov. 2 last year, with his stolen belongings valued at $1.484 million.

“I consider Milwaukee my home. Unfortunately … while I was at work, my home was broken into and burglarized. Many of my prized possessions were stolen,” he said on his Instagram account.