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Nazeeh Johnson’s story is a heartbreaker and not because he learned on Friday that the NFL is suspending him six games for violating league policy, but because that violation is apparently linked to the Tennessee Titans player and his wife trying in vain to start their family.
Hours after the NFL announced Johnson would be suspended on Aug. 30 without pay for violating the Performance Enhancing Drug policy, and that he would not be able to return to his team until Oct. 19, Johnson went on social media to explain why he tested positive.
Prepare yourself because this one cuts to the core.
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“My wife and I were trying to conceive a child,” Johnson explained on X. “We found out that I was infertile, and I took a fertility medication that was helping me try to conceive a baby.
“I was not aware that there was a substance in the medication that was on the banned list, and I tested positive for a PED.”
That isn’t the worst part.
A source close to Johnson told Fox News Digital that he and his wife Gabrielle were initially encouraged by the treatments both were taking. It seemed to work. She got pregnant.
But then, tragedy.
“We lost our baby a few weeks ago, and this has been an incredibly difficult time for my wife and me,” Johnson said in his post.
Gabrielle shared a post on X showing part of the regimen she underwent to try to get pregnant.
“This is real life,” she wrote on a post that includes video of her injecting medication, having eggs harvested, and finally getting a positive pregnancy test result.
“This is a lot of people’s lives,” she continued. “It can be a joke or a chance to tear someone down – but for us, it’s our life. There’s no fun in it. Just pain, tears, and recently, disappointment. And that pain doesn’t end when football does.”
The suspension is not the first time Johnson’s career has suffered a significant setback.
He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 but was forced to miss all the 2023 season when he tore the ACL in one of his knees during training camp.
In 2025, the year he and Gabrielle were married, Johnson’s season was cut short again when he played only two games due to a shoulder injury.
He signed a one-year contract with the Titans this offseason.
There is, on the surface, no part of this that seems to be anything other than agonizing. But Johnson offered a glimmer of hope in his explanation about the looming suspension.
“Fortunately, we have nine good eggs left,” he said. “So we’re holding on to hope that we’ll be able to grow our family.”
Johnson also offered some advice to other NFL players before they, too, take any medication for any reason.
“Lesson to all NFL players and new players coming into the league: do not put anything in your body without following the process and getting approval beforehand,” he said.
FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO
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