for display only
Big Blue Interactive The Corner Forum  
Back to the Corner

Archived Thread

NFT: Why Do Leagues Test Players for Recreational Drug Use?

St. Jimmy : 3/11/2018 10:42 pm
The whole OBJ drama of the weekend brought me to that question. It seems that having a star player suspended for drugs would actually hurt the product they put on the field.

Do they really care about the players health? The whole concussion/CTE stance by the NFL would indicate they don't or more like they only care about avoiding lawsuits and payouts to players.

Is it because its illegal? The leagues cared about recreational drug use a long time before they cared about PED use. They only got serious about it when the government got involved.

Is it a bargaining chip with the players unions? Is it a power thing over the players?

How are the professional leagues benefiting from drug testing? What's your opinion?
Because it’s illegal and  
UConn4523 : 3/11/2018 10:46 pm : link
sponsors won’t like being associated with drug use, especially something more than weed.
Anything illegal is obviously off limits  
BigBlue4You09 : 3/11/2018 11:00 pm : link
Even if weed is legal in some states
Weed's a funny thing  
Joey in VA : 3/11/2018 11:11 pm : link
It's nowhere near as destructive to lives and brains and bodies as alcohol but Budweiser is plastered over every NFL game in stadium and on TV. I don't partake in weed, never saw the allure but it has a long standing stigma in this country that I don't think will ever go away. I've seen alcohol brutalize lives and it's perfectly fine to put a NY logo on a bud light can. Put a leaf near it and it's off limits and bad bad bad.
RE: Weed's a funny thing  
Justlurking : 3/12/2018 7:49 am : link
In comment 13859367 Joey in VA said:
Quote:
It's nowhere near as destructive to lives and brains and bodies as alcohol but Budweiser is plastered over every NFL game in stadium and on TV. I don't partake in weed, never saw the allure but it has a long standing stigma in this country that I don't think will ever go away. I've seen alcohol brutalize lives and it's perfectly fine to put a NY logo on a bud light can. Put a leaf near it and it's off limits and bad bad bad.


Agree with everything. The stigma is rapidly diminishing, though. Younger generations just don’t care that people smoke weed.
Federally illegal  
JonC : 3/12/2018 7:55 am : link
NFL follows suit and adds the morality clause because it's their prerogative as a private company.
Who cares???  
Brown Recluse : 3/12/2018 7:56 am : link
If your employer says something is against the rules, don't do it. If you do it, be an adult and deal with the consequences/ If you don't like it, get a new job. Don't be a self-entitled prick who thinks they should be able to do whatever they want because shit isn't fair. How difficult is that?

...  
christian : 3/12/2018 8:02 am : link
It's even crazier when NFL players get arrested for illegal behavior involving alcohol.
The real hipocracy  
pjcas18 : 3/12/2018 8:42 am : link
about weed is that the league/teams pump their players with narcotic pain relievers, so they can get back on the field. But smoke a joint during the testing period and you're in the program.

and it's just not younger generations (though they have led the change) who don't care about weed anymore, it's across the board, check out the results from states like MA, CO, OR, WA, CA, NV. Gen X, baby boomers, millennials, etc. all doubled or tripled in support or legalized weed since 2006 - only besides millennials they all had farther to go. for example baby boomers support legalized weed 1t 56% up from 17% in 2006, Gen X is 57%, up from 21%.

It really is sort of arbitrary to have legal alcohol and illegal weed, but the law is the law, so that's why the league cares.

Bottom line though is the NFL league policy for weed is so lax if you do in fact get busted for weed and wind up suspended you just don't care about following the NFL rules. You are told the period of time you'll be tested (4/20 (LOL) - 8/9) - once and only once during that period, fail a test and all you have to do is remain clean and show up for tests for 90 days and you're out of the program, period. and if you don't then it all snowballs.

It's estimated for every one player suspended for weed, 5 to 10 players fail a test and exit the program "anonymously".
As a Physician in Florida  
Painless62 : 3/12/2018 10:44 am : link
I deal with pain patients daily. The legalization of weed has dramatically cut down on the narcotic usage of many of my patients and is unquestionably safer. We used to test for THC on every patient and have stopped that policy over a year ago. Both the patients and the docs are better for it. Cocaine and other drugs are still clearly bad and we monitor for those. My son is applying for a high school summer program. Not only was he asked what gender he is, but how he saw himself. It took every part of my being not to give a wise ass answer . My point is, if we are going to be so progressive in every aspect of our lives, weed usage should stop being an issue. Should be don’t ask, don’t tell. The players should push hard for that. I agree 100% that alcohol is more destructive. This is coming from a physician who loves his wine and beer and doesn’t partake in the devils lettuce. I heard that from a patient and thought it was funny as I hadn’t heard that one before.
It comes down to this...  
EricJ : 3/12/2018 10:54 am : link
not wanting the players to get into the game high. If you allow it for recreational use at home, then there is no way to truly know if the player smoked 10 min before kickoff.

As a paying fan of the Giants, I am not going to spend so much for tickets to watch a bunch of stoners sleeping at mid field and then gobbling cheeseburgers and pizza at the Gatorade table. LOL
RE: It comes down to this...  
pjcas18 : 3/12/2018 11:09 am : link
In comment 13859686 EricJ said:
Quote:
not wanting the players to get into the game high. If you allow it for recreational use at home, then there is no way to truly know if the player smoked 10 min before kickoff.

As a paying fan of the Giants, I am not going to spend so much for tickets to watch a bunch of stoners sleeping at mid field and then gobbling cheeseburgers and pizza at the Gatorade table. LOL


You sound inexperienced with weed (or are joking), and that's fine, but it doesn't effect you like the stereotypes. Or doesn't always and/or immediately.

In high school there were guys on my hockey and baseball teams who would smoke weed before games sometimes. just calmed them down, didn't make them sleepy or hungry. I used to take sudafed before hockey games because the ephedrine made my heart rate faster. This was when sudafed was over the counter and before the Angels pitcher died from it.

I also think it's kind of a naive/convenient for a Giants fan to have that view, when it's pretty likely LT played high at least occasionally.

now, I'm not saying players should be using weed before games, but I don't think they're going to fall asleep at midfield or eat the whole buffet after. if it impacts their play, they simply won't last long in the league.
It comes down to money.  
Cam in MO : 3/12/2018 12:30 pm : link
Teams invest multiple millions in players. The testing system is lax because in protecting their investment, they're not so worried about the casual smoker, their looking to be able to cut their losses on the Ricky Williams #sour guys. Failing a test that you know is coming multiple times is a sure indicator of other issues in your life.

Would you risk $10,000,000 a year on someone that couldn't pass a scheduled alcohol/marijuana screening?
Gah  
Cam in MO : 3/12/2018 12:31 pm : link
*they're not their....
RE: RE: It comes down to this...  
EricJ : 3/12/2018 1:31 pm : link
In comment 13859711 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
In comment 13859686 EricJ said:


Quote:


not wanting the players to get into the game high. If you allow it for recreational use at home, then there is no way to truly know if the player smoked 10 min before kickoff.

As a paying fan of the Giants, I am not going to spend so much for tickets to watch a bunch of stoners sleeping at mid field and then gobbling cheeseburgers and pizza at the Gatorade table. LOL



You sound inexperienced with weed (or are joking), and that's fine, but it doesn't effect you like the stereotypes. Or doesn't always and/or immediately.

In high school there were guys on my hockey and baseball teams who would smoke weed before games sometimes. just calmed them down, didn't make them sleepy or hungry. I used to take sudafed before hockey games because the ephedrine made my heart rate faster. This was when sudafed was over the counter and before the Angels pitcher died from it.

I also think it's kind of a naive/convenient for a Giants fan to have that view, when it's pretty likely LT played high at least occasionally.

now, I'm not saying players should be using weed before games, but I don't think they're going to fall asleep at midfield or eat the whole buffet after. if it impacts their play, they simply won't last long in the league.


Yes I was joking about falling asleep and getting the munchies at the bench. The entire second paragraph. There is no way that it should be allowed though.
RE: Weed's a funny thing  
Ten Ton Hammer : 3/12/2018 1:32 pm : link
In comment 13859367 Joey in VA said:
Quote:
It's nowhere near as destructive to lives and brains and bodies as alcohol but Budweiser is plastered over every NFL game in stadium and on TV. I don't partake in weed, never saw the allure but it has a long standing stigma in this country that I don't think will ever go away. I've seen alcohol brutalize lives and it's perfectly fine to put a NY logo on a bud light can. Put a leaf near it and it's off limits and bad bad bad.


On this we agree entirely.
Back to the Corner