Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Josh Williams became the latest name added to the long list of drug suspensions in sports, banned six games without pay under the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy.
From baseball legends stripped of titles to boxers and tennis champions forced to the sidelines, doping scandals stretch across sports.
While some athletes rebuilt their reputations, others saw their careers and legacies collapse overnight.
Here are ten of the most significant drug suspensions in sports history.
Alex Rodriguez (2014)
Alex Rodriguez received the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history when he was banned for the entire 2014 season.
The Yankees star was punished for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, which linked players to a Florida clinic supplying performance-enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez initially denied the allegations and fought his suspension through arbitration, but later admitted to using banned substances.
The scandal left a permanent mark on his Hall of Fame chances and reshaped how MLB handled doping violations.
Lance Armstrong (2012)
Lance Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. It’s the standout case among drug suspensions in sports.
Once celebrated as a cancer survivor and global sporting icon, Armstrong’s downfall became one of the biggest scandals in modern sport.
He repeatedly denied doping until his 2013 confession on national television, admitting to years of systematic cheating.
The revelation destroyed his legacy and erased one of the most celebrated comeback stories in sporting history.
Jon Jones (2016 & 2018)
Jon Jones, one of the UFC’s most dominant champions, saw his career repeatedly derailed by failed drug tests.
He was first stripped of his light heavyweight title in 2016 after testing positive for banned substances ahead of UFC 200.
Two years later, another failed test cost him more time out of the octagon. Jones blamed tainted supplements, but his violations led many to question his legacy.
He eventually returned to reclaim UFC gold, yet his reputation has never fully recovered.
Maria Sharapova (2016)
Maria Sharapova was handed a 15-month suspension after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
The five-time Grand Slam champion admitted to taking the substance but said she was unaware it had recently been added to the banned list.
Her ban marked one of tennis’s biggest doping scandals and divided opinion across the sport.
Sharapova returned to competition in 2017, but her time at the top had effectively ended.
Josh Gordon (2014–2021)
Josh Gordon’s NFL career became one of the league’s most high-profile cautionary tales.
The Cleveland Browns receiver was suspended six times between 2014 and 2021 for violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
At his peak, Gordon was one of the league’s most gifted wideouts, leading the NFL in receiving yards in 2013 despite missing two games.
Repeated suspensions cost him multiple seasons and millions in lost earnings, turning a potential superstar career into a story of what might have been.
Ricky Williams (2004)
Ricky Williams stunned the NFL when he retired in 2004 after failing a drug test for marijuana.
The Miami Dolphins star was later suspended for the entire 2004 season under the league’s strict substance policy.
His absence crippled the Dolphins’ offence and cost him over $8 million in salary and bonuses.
Williams eventually returned to football, but his year-long exile became a turning point in how the NFL approached recreational drug use.
Tyson Fury (2015–2016)
Tyson Fury was suspended in 2016 after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone.
The British heavyweight had stunned the boxing world by defeating Wladimir Klitschko to become world champion, but his positive test and mental health struggles forced him out of the ring.
He vacated his titles and was sidelined for over two years while battling personal issues and negotiating his return.
Fury’s eventual comeback in 2018, capped by his dramatic rise back to world champion, remains one of boxing’s most remarkable redemption arcs.
Roman Reigns (2016)
Roman Reigns was suspended for 30 days by WWE after violating the company’s Wellness Policy.
At the time, he was the face of the organisation and its reigning world champion, making his failed test a major embarrassment for the company.
Reigns took public responsibility, posting a short apology on social media before stepping away from television.
He returned a month later to a mixed fan reaction, but the suspension showed that even WWE’s biggest star wasn’t immune to punishment.
Paul Pogba (2024)
Paul Pogba was handed a four-year ban from football after testing positive for testosterone while playing for Juventus.
The World Cup winner denied knowingly taking a banned substance but was found guilty by Italy’s anti-doping tribunal.
The suspension effectively ended his top-level career and brought an abrupt halt to what had been one of football’s most high-profile returns to Serie A.
Once one of the sport’s most marketable stars, Pogba’s case became a stark warning about the consequences of anti-doping violations.
Manny Ramirez (2009-2011)
Manny Ramirez was one of baseball’s most feared hitters before repeated drug violations ended his career in disgrace.
The two-time World Series champion was first suspended for 50 games in 2009 after testing positive for a banned substance while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Two years later, another failed test triggered a 100-game ban, prompting his sudden retirement.
Ramirez later attempted brief comebacks in minor and international leagues, but his reputation in Major League Baseball never recovered.
