Darryl Strawberry is urging people not to write off Nick Kyrgios after the tennis star tested positive for a cocaine metabolite and was provisionally suspended, drawing on his own history with addiction and recovery.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, the former MLB star argued that Kyrgios needs support while he deals with the consequences of the positive test. “He just needs time,” Strawberry said, adding that Kyrgios needs “people to love him through the process.”
Kyrgios provided a sample during an ATP 250 event in Mallorca on June 22. A World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory confirmed benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, in the sample on July 17, according to the International Tennis Integrity Agency. His mandatory provisional suspension has been in effect since Aug. 4.
Kyrgios acknowledged the positive test publicly on Aug. 19, calling it a “huge mistake” and accepting full responsibility. He also said years of injuries had taken a physical and mental toll and announced that he would spend 28 days away from social media and public life while focusing on himself.
Strawberry Says Kyrgios Needs ‘People to Love Him Through the Process’
Strawberry told TMZ that his reaction comes from experiencing public judgment during his own struggles with drugs. He argued that athletic success does not prevent someone from struggling privately and cautioned against reducing people to the problems they experience away from competition.
“I had it for a very long time and I received the same kind of treatment from the public,” Strawberry said while discussing substance abuse. He added that outsiders often do not understand what somebody may be going through emotionally or mentally.
“Recovery is possible,” he said. “People have to give people a chance.” His message for Kyrgios was similarly straightforward. “He just needs time,” Strawberry said. “He just needs people to love him through the process.”
Strawberry recalled that having people remain in his life and help him through his own recovery was crucial, and he believes Kyrgios deserves the opportunity to receive that kind of support as well.
Strawberry’s Own Recovery Shapes His Message
Strawberry’s perspective comes from a baseball career in which extraordinary success existed alongside serious problems with drugs and alcohol. The eight-time All-Star has spoken openly about cocaine use during his playing years, periods in treatment and suspensions that interrupted a career in which he hit 335 home runs over 17 major-league seasons.
An MLB.com profile detailed how Strawberry began using cocaine after reaching the major leagues and continued struggling with substance use even as he became one of baseball’s most recognizable stars. His life eventually moved in a very different direction. Strawberry and his wife, Tracy, became ordained ministers in 2007, and he has since spoken extensively about addiction, faith and recovery through churches, prisons and other programs.
He has also been involved with treatment and recovery initiatives, making his reaction to Kyrgios more personal than one famous athlete simply offering an opinion about another. “I’ve been in recovery a long time,” Strawberry told TMZ. “People have written me off.”
Kyrgios Called the Positive Test a ‘Wake-Up Call’
In his Aug. 19 statement, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist said he had failed a drug test in Mallorca after testing positive for cocaine and took “full responsibility” for what happened. He apologized to his family, fans, sponsors and particularly younger people who follow him.
He said recurring injuries had taken a major toll physically and mentally and that accepting the possibility that he may be approaching the end of his tennis career had been more difficult than he expected. He described feeling helpless and alone at times but explicitly said those feelings did not excuse his actions.
Kyrgios called the positive test a “wake-up call” and said he would step away from social media and public life for 28 days while focusing on getting himself right.
Kyrgios’s Suspension Is Still Provisional
The ITIA says cocaine is classified as both a stimulant and a “substance of abuse” on the WADA Prohibited List and is prohibited in competition. Because of the substance involved, Kyrgios’s provisional suspension was mandatory.
While suspended, he cannot play in, coach at or attend events organized or sanctioned by World Tennis, the ATP, WTA, Grand Slams or national tennis associations.
Kyrgios has the right to appeal the provisional suspension but had not done so when the ITIA announced the case on Aug. 19. The agency also said its support services are available to him. Exactly how long any eventual sanction lasts will depend on facts that have not yet been formally determined in the case.
Under the 2026 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, if a player can establish that use of a substance of abuse occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sports performance, the standard period of ineligibility is three months. That can be reduced to one month if the player satisfactorily completes a substance-abuse treatment program approved by the ITIA.