It’s no mystery that marijuana is a huge taboo in the National Football League. Test positive for it, get caught smoking, or in possession of the substance, and the punishment handed down from the League Office will surely be swift, and usually just as harsh as the last big bong rip you took. In fact, the NFL pretty much operates in the same stern manner with any substances they deem “banned,” believing if its players are found out to be (ab)using them, it will tarnish the league’s sterling reputation.
Ahead of the 2015 draft getting underway on Thursday, the NFL still enforces an incredibly strict substance rule of law, which they don’t even hesitate to apply fully to some of the game’s most talented stars – ahem, Josh Gordon.
That’s why it’s crazy to hear an NFL GM say that he thinks quite a few prospects in this year’s draft regularly partake in smoking weed, obviously in lieu of the consequences they knowingly risk (another ahem, Mizzou’s Shane Ray).
The interesting quotes made anonymously concerning how weed and football currently intertwine in the league came by way of Bleacher Report’s NFL columnist, Mike Freeman.
GM to me: "My estimate is 30 to 40 percent of players in this draft class use marijuana regularly. That's right in line with our league."
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) April 29, 2015
More from GM: "Publicly teams act shocked, disappointed about marijuana. Privately we know a lot of guys smoke and we're far from shocked."
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) April 29, 2015
Last from GM: "In five years, maybe less, we'll have a league that allows smoking pot. It's best recourse. What we're doing now is stupid."
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) April 29, 2015
Thirty to forty percent!? I’m not sure if that seems like a lot or not, but I couldn’t agree more with the double standard it seems the league holds for its image, in accordance with the behind closed doors reference the GM alluded to. It’s interesting to hear a source inside the league speak on the subject and be real about it.
Obviously, as marijuana continues to becomes more mainstream, accepted, and legalized across America, it will be interesting to see how the NFL reacts and shapes its policies as a result.
I do know one thing, though. This guy admitedlly smoked weed every day of his life, and he was a damn good football player.
If you’re unsure that is, look up who won the Heisman in 1998.
h/t Bleacher Report