Fred Kerley Suspended: Plans to Appeal Decision

Fred Kerley has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for whereabouts failures on August 12, 2025 (today). Kerley is the World Champion in the the 100-meter from 2022 and the Olympic silver medalist in the same event from 2021.

Fred Kerley Suspended for Article 2.4

Whereabout failure falls under Article 2.4 of the World Anti-Doping Code, which is defined as:

“Any combination of three missed tests and/or filing failures, as defined in the International Standard for Results Management, within a 12-month period by an Athlete in a Registered Testing Pool.”

On his Instagram, Kerley posted a letter from his legal team stating that he has already notified the AIU that he intends to contest the suspension and that he strongly believes one or more of his missed tests should be set aside because either what he did wasn’t negligent or the Doping Control Officer didn’t act reasonably.

If his appeal doesn’t go through, Kerley will be facing a maximum of a two-year ban from competitive athletics.  

Kerley’s last race of the season was on July 7, when he ran 10.07 at the Grand Sprint Series in Norwalk, California. He looked to be building toward a successful season through the first half of the year, running 9.87 seconds in the 100-meter (+2.9m/s wind) in early May. Things haven’t gone smoothly for Kerley since then.

He ended his season early, electing to withdraw from the USATF Championships, which were held at the end of July. He wrote on his social media that he was planning on taking some time to “get back on track.” He also wrote, “The 100m should be a straight sprint. 2025 has presented many hurdles.”

Fred Kerley Arrests

Kerley was previously arrested in January in Miami Beach after a dispute with officers. When trying to reach his parked car, officers told him that he wasn’t able to reach the vehicle since they were investigating an (unrelated) crime scene. The altercation escalated until Kerley was eventually subdued using a TASER.

He was again arrested for battery-touch or strike in May for allegedly punching former girlfriend and current athlete Alaysha Johnson in the face. He then wrote on social media:

“While there was a physical alteration, my arrest was not due to any criminal act. Rather, it resulted from my decision to exercise reman silent until legal counsel was present. I chose not to speak to law enforcement without my attorney, and for that reason alone I was booked.”

No Appeal Date Yet

A date hasn’t yet been announced for Kerley’s appeal of his suspension, so we’ll have to wait to see if we can expect to see Kerley back in action come next spring or if it could be at least a couple of years before he laces up his spikes competitively.