Weeks after a major courtroom victory, US sprinter Fred Kerley has now received a two-year ban for missing drug tests.
The Athletics Integrity Unit overseeing doping cases for World Athletics announced the suspension Friday. The organization’s statement claimed Kerley’s missed tests occurred from May through December of 2024.
Interestingly, the suspension shouldn’t impact the 30-year-old former world champion because he has signed to run in a league that allows performance enhancers. Last September, he became the biggest name in sprinting to announce he would run in the Enhanced Games, a start-up league that will not penalize athletes for using banned substances.
The competition is offering a $1million prize for broken world records, and each event has a total purse of $500,000, with $250,000 for each winner.
‘I’m looking forward to this new chapter and competing at the Enhanced Games,’ Kerley told the event’s website last year.
The Enhanced Games will take place in May.
Bronze medalist Fred Kerley of Team USA reacts after competing in the Men’s 100m Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. He is now banned through August of 2027
Kerley responded to his suspension with a flurry of social media posts on Friday. One featured a picture of himself bursting through a phalanx of men dressed like military police wearing uniforms with ‘AIU,’ ‘WADA’ (World Anti-Doping Agency) and ‘USADA’ (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) on them.
‘I’m tired of holding everything in,’ it said. ‘You can’t control me, and the truth is louder than silence.’
Kerley’s suspension will run through August 11, 2027.
In January, Kerley enjoyed a courtroom victory when prosecutors in Florida dropped domestic violence charges stemming from a 2024 dispute with his now-estranged wife.
‘I’m happy to report that the case was dismissed due to an utter lack of evidence and good faith to proceed by the prosecutor,’ attorney Richard Cooper told TMZ. ‘My client could never and would never hurt a woman, especially the mother of his children. My client is looking forward to focusing on winning races and inspiring people around the world.’
Kerley was arrested in January of 2025 for battery on law enforcement
Kerley was arrested again in January of 2025 after a confrontation with Miami Beach police in which officers used a stun gun on the Texas native.
Five months later, he was arrested for allegedly punching his former girlfriend, Olympic hurdler Alaysha Johnson. He was ultimately charged with misdemeanor battery in that case and has denied the accusations.
Kerley was a silver medalist in the 100m dash at the 2020 Tokyo Games and later took bronze in Paris in 2024.
