Why has Fred Kerley been suspended? All we know so far about American's provisional ban

American track athlete Fred Kerley has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for his whereabouts failures. As per the AIU, whereabouts failures refer to issues when an athlete hasn't provided the complete details about their whereabouts at a specific period, and there is also not enough information for testing the athlete.

The 2025 season has already been a controversy-laden year for Kerley, which includes a complaint of domestic violence from his former girlfriend, Alaysha Johnson, leading to a suspension from Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track.

Reacting to the suspension, Kerley shared a statement on his Instagram handle, stating that he is going to challenge AIU's decision. The statement read:

"Fred Kerley has already notified the AIU that he intends to contest the allegation that he has violated the anti-doping rules related to whereabouts failures, as he strongly believes that one or more of his alleged missed tests should be set aside either because he was not negligent or because the Doping Control Officer did not do what was reasonable under the circumstances to locate him at his designated location."

"Fred will not comment further at this time out of respect for the process, and looks forward to presenting his case to the appointed hearing panel."

This comes just a few weeks after Kerley missed the USATF Track and Field Championships, which was a qualifying event for the Worlds in Tokyo. Thereby, the former World Champion will also not feature in the Tokyo event in September.

Fred Kerley made his feelings known on missing the USATF Championships 2025

Fred Kerley (Image via: Getty)

Fred Kerley expressed his disappointment over missing the 2025 USATF Track and Field Championships. In his last Outdoor National event in 2023, Kerley finished fourth in the 200m event and didn't contest the 100m.

In an Instagram post, Kerley shared that his 2025 season has been filled with several hurdles, and he is looking forward to taking a break before getting back on track. He further expressed his gratitude to his supporters and wrote:

"The 100m should be a straight sprint. 2025 has presented many hurdles. Taking some time out to get back on track. No USATF Champs this year. Thanks to all my supporters."

Notably, Kerley has registered some impressive performances in the season so far, including two podium finishes at the Rabat Diamond League. He has also clinched top-podium finishes at the Mt. SAC Relays and Grand Sprint Series events.