PFT: Ditching marijuana ban would be good business for NFL

Cotton

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Ditching marijuana ban would be good business for NFL

Posted by Mike Florio on September 30, 2016, 11:44 AM EDT

Pigs get fat, hogs got slaughtered, and employers who unreasonably try to run the private lives of their employees eventually pay for it.

Amid efforts to understand why the NFL’s TV audience is shrinking, there’s one reason that unnecessarily is keeping some of the best young players off the field: The Big Brotherish ban on marijuana use.

Whether it’s Josh Gordon, Justin Blackmon, Martavis Bryant, Randy Gregory, or any other player who has been or will be suspended for smoking marijuana or using other recreational drugs on their own time, the NFL’s effort to supplement the criminal justice system by punishing players who haven’t been arrested or charged with any crime deprives the game of talented players who could be making the game more exciting and compelling and competitive.

It’s one of several issues the league needs to consider when engaging in much-needed navel gazing regarding the reasons for the dip in ratings and the ways to change it. Apart from the reality that it’s the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do for the business of the NFL.

Don’t count on the NFL changing course spontaneously. Because the issue of marijuana use has become part of the broader menu of collective-bargaining topics, the league will want a concession from the NFL Players Association before ever walking away from the marijuana ban, even if it’s clearly in the best interests of the game to defer any concerns regarding the use of marijuana and other street drugs to the relevant legal authorities and/or the inherent meritocracy of the sport.

Put simply, if a guy doesn’t get arrested and can continue to perform at a satisfactory level regardless of whether he uses marijuana, he should be allowed to keep playing — and the league should want to do all it can to help him keep playing.
 

Genghis Khan

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It is ridiculous to test for it, and equally ridiculous to have such harsh penalties for it.
 

Cowboysrock55

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It is ridiculous to test for it, and equally ridiculous to have such harsh penalties for it.
Pretty much what I've been saying. Their is no benefit to the NFL to do this. So why suspend your best players for something that doesn't negativeky impact the game.
 

Genghis Khan

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Pretty much what I've been saying. Their is no benefit to the NFL to do this. So why suspend your best players for something that doesn't negativeky impact the game.
Yep, and draws attention to it as well. Nobody would know that Gordon even uses if they didn't test for it.

Instead they are inadvertently associating themselves with it. The more players get suspended for it, the more people will think, oh, the nfl sure has a lot of potheads.

Just dumb all around.
 

shane

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There would probably be far fewer domestic violence charges happening if these violent maniacs could smoke some of the herb every now and again.
 

Newt

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Just playing Devil advocate here so don't get all Hippie-like and jump down my throat, but if you owned an NFL wouldn't you want some type of restrictions on the cannabis? At least during the season or "working" periods like training camp and preseason? I don't think its in the best interest of the NFL or any company for that matter to have the employees getting high the night before a game. Or drunk for that matter, at some point you have to imagine that it would begin to effect the player performance and cost that player his job. Which circles back to the argument of why weren't there stricter regulations....
 

L.T. Fan

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Started a new thread eh? Okay I will stay away. :rock:rock
 

Cowboysrock55

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Just playing Devil advocate here so don't get all Hippie-like and jump down my throat, but if you owned an NFL wouldn't you want some type of restrictions on the cannabis? At least during the season or "working" periods like training camp and preseason? I don't think its in the best interest of the NFL or any company for that matter to have the employees getting high the night before a game. Or drunk for that matter, at some point you have to imagine that it would begin to effect the player performance and cost that player his job. Which circles back to the argument of why weren't there stricter regulations....

I can understand that at least a little. But it sounds like if that's what the NFL is trying to do they are failing at it miserably:

'I played stoned': Some NFL players love getting high before kickoff
By Michael Kaplan Published September 18, 2016 New York Post

Before he suited up to play against the New York Giants in 2012, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Eben Britton took an ice bath followed by a hot shower. He did his routine stretches. Then he smoked a joint.

In fact, Britton — who also played for the Chicago Bears but left the league in 2014 — tells The Post he played three NFL games while high on marijuana.

“NFL games I played stoned were some of the best games I ever played. Cannabis cements your surroundings,” he says. “A lot of people say they’re useless when they smoke weed. But hell, I played NFL games [while stoned], dude. My performances were solid and I felt really good after.”

Which was the point, since the Brooklyn-born Britton was smoking to relieve, at various times, “psychological distress or sciatica or pain in my shoulders.”

And he was far from alone.

Asked how many NFL players currently smoke pot, Britton estimates “it’s over 50 percent and it could be as high as 75 percent.” A sports agent who asked to remain anonymous says, “The number is rumored to be as high as 80 percent.”
 

E_D_Guapo

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Just playing Devil advocate here so don't get all Hippie-like and jump down my throat, but if you owned an NFL wouldn't you want some type of restrictions on the cannabis? At least during the season or "working" periods like training camp and preseason? I don't think its in the best interest of the NFL or any company for that matter to have the employees getting high the night before a game. Or drunk for that matter, at some point you have to imagine that it would begin to effect the player performance and cost that player his job. Which circles back to the argument of why weren't there stricter regulations....
The thing is half or more of these guys already are getting high, so ostensibly many are doing so the night before the game (I have trouble believing the percentage of guys in the league who smoke weed is as high as the rumored 75%-80% as suggested in the Britton article though) . Testing apparently isn't stopping them. I don't see any reason why smoking a joint the night before a game would in any way affect their on-field performance the next day. Drinking might if they go overboard and are hung over.

Playing high is a whole other story. Apparently some of these guys are doing it but it sounds like a bad idea to me. Regular smokers aren't affected in the same way as someone who occasionally takes a couple hits from a joint though. Being high is just as normal a state as being sober for someone who smokes weed every day. So I guess I can see how it might not be that big of a deal as far as how it would affect them, but it still seems really dumb to me. Anyone who does that probably needs to reevaluate themselves because that indicates dependence to me.
 
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mcnuttz

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The thing is half or more of these guys already are getting high, so ostensibly many are doing so the night before the game (I have trouble believing the percentage of guys in the league who smoke weed is as high as the rumored 75%-80% as suggested in the Britton article though) . Testing apparently isn't stopping them. I don't see any reason why smoking a joint the night before a game would in any way affect their on-field performance the next day. Drinking might if they go overboard and are hung over.

Playing high is a whole other story. Apparently some of these guys are doing it but it sounds like a bad idea to me. Regular smokers aren't affected in the same way as someone who occasionally takes a couple hits from a joint though. Being high is just as normal a state as being sober for someone who smokes weed every day. So I guess I can see how it might not be that big of a deal as far as how it would affect them, but it still seems really dumb to me. Anyone who does that probably needs to reevaluate themselves because that indicates dependence to me.
Agreed, no issue with someone smoking the night before.

But if you're consuming before a game that's teh ludicre.
 

Newt

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The thing is half or more of these guys already are getting high, so ostensibly many are doing so the night before the game (I have trouble believing the percentage of guys in the league who smoke weed is as high as the rumored 75%-80% as suggested in the Britton article though) . Testing apparently isn't stopping them. I don't see any reason why smoking a joint the night before a game would in any way affect their on-field performance the next day. Drinking might if they go overboard and are hung over.

Playing high is a whole other story. Apparently some of these guys are doing it but it sounds like a bad idea to me. Regular smokers aren't affected in the same way as someone who occasionally takes a couple hits from a joint though. Being high is just as normal a state as being sober for someone who smokes weed every day. So I guess I can see how it might not be that big of a deal as far as how it would affect them, but it still seems really dumb to me. Anyone who does that probably needs to reevaluate themselves because that indicates dependence to me.
The article also lead me to believe britton thought he had an advantage by being "stoned", how would that be different from the ADHD medicine that has gotten so many players in trouble recently?
 

Cowboysrock55

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The article also lead me to believe britton thought he had an advantage by being "stoned", how would that be different from the ADHD medicine that has gotten so many players in trouble recently?
I'd say it would be more akin to a player taking a pain reliever before a game. Many of those have similar effects. Also I think ADHD medicine should be removed from the banned substance list a long as a player has a valid prescription for it and take the doses as prescribed. Seems ridiculous to suspend players for that as well.
 

Newt

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I'd say it would be more akin to a player taking a pain reliever before a game. Many of those have similar effects. Also I think ADHD medicine should be removed from the banned substance list a long as a player has a valid prescription for it and take the doses as prescribed. Seems ridiculous to suspend players for that as well.
I actually tend to agree with you on the ADHD ban. And really, it makes no difference to me if marijuana is legal or accepted, my biggest problem has always been "why do players continue to use it while its banned?" This has been discussed at length in other threads so no need to re-hash.... LOL "hash"
 
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