Darryl Strawberry wants ‘love’ for Nick Kyrgios amid cocaine suspension

A couple of days ago, tennis’ infamous superstar Nick Kyrgios found himself in major trouble. The Australian tennis star recently announced his suspension from the sport. Accepting his mistake, Kyrgios claimed that he was banned from the sport after testing positive for cocaine usage.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, at the recent grass court event in Mallorca, and is currently serving a mandatory provisional suspension. The ban could potentially stretch to four years, but could also be a maximum of three months if Kyrgios can satisfy investigators that he took the drug out of competition.

MLB veteran Darryl Strawberry, who was also once known for his substance usage, recently appeared in an interview with TMZ Sports, where he offered his support to Kyrgios and condemned the punishment.

“I think it’s truly unfair when people punish people, especially athletes, that have substance abuse problems,” Strawberry told TMZ. “I had it for a very long time, and I received the same kind of treatment from the public. A lot of times we don’t understand what a person is going through emotionally, mentally, inside.

“Substance abuse is just something to escape from. You can be great as an athlete and have all the talent you want, but at the same time, when you’re broken on the inside, you need to be healed on the inside. And that’s all it is really for him.

“He just needs time. He just needs people to love him through the process. And that’s what it was for me, having people love me through the process and help me through the process. We all need help. You know, we all fall short,” Strawberry further opened up when speaking about Kyrgios’ suspension.

Over the past few years, Strawberry has been in recovery. Suspended by MLB on three occasions, Strawberry is now sober and has helped other individuals get better.

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