Lets Talk About Marijuana

[yo mama]

Owners should have a right to (legally) test THEIR players/employees, like any other employer can, for any drug they choose. The NFL, on the other hand, ought not be able to test for anything other than performance enhancing drugs. Nor should the NFL be able to force any owner to test for non-performance enhancing drugs. Sheesh, it isn't like we're talking about nuclear missle commanders, heavy equipment operators, or train conductors. They're just entertainers... albeit highly paid ones.

 

And I could really care less if kids look up to these celebs, which might lead to a "bad influence." Sure, It'd be nice if all celebs were peachy-keen role models, but that's not something that should be mandated by government or employers. Because it isn't the celebs job to raise my kids. That's my job. If anyone is seriously concerned about how Randy Moss or Ontario Smith's pot smoking might affect their kids, I suggest they'd be better served spending less time blah, blah, blahing about it here, and spend that time talking to their kids about drugs, instead.

[soloArtist]

I think alot of people are arguing against things that spain & co are NOT arguing against. I don't think anyone here is saying that the NFL shouldn't fine/punish those who are caught using/possessing illegal drugs, but that it should not randomly test for usage. The league doesn't go into the players home and do random searches for drugs, but if a player is caught with drugs (possession), the league will fine/punish him. The same should be true for usage. If a player is caught using drugs, then he should be fined/punished. But leave the random testing alone. Recreational drugs like Josh Gordon don't effect the player's play, and if it does because of over usage, the player can be released, just like over usage of alcohol will.

 

I have to agree with spain, players shouldn't be tested. The league's rep is effected either way, and in fact, if they didn't test, the league's rep would probably be better, since less cases would be exposed. Those that are exposed, the league can still be tough with fines/punishments, and that will show that the league does not condone drug use.

[Bill Swerski]

Millions of people smoke pot and live to tell about it.  One loser in a couple of hundred thousand moves on to heroin and one loser in a million kills himself by ODing on heroin.  I've yet to hear about a player suspended for heroin use.  I've yet to hear about a player arrested for heroin use.  I've yet to hear about a player dying from a heroin overdose.  Stupid analogy by Swerski - to no one's surprise.

 

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'Twas a much more intelligent analogy than the one you brought up of the NFL breaking into players' homes to do random searches.

 

Of course, you cherry-pick around the substance of my argument - to no one's surprise.

 

Getting back to the topic, look at what happened to Rashaan Salaam. The Bears spent a sizeable amount of change to sign him (first-rounder, IIRC) and, after completely tanking after his rookie year, he blamed his demise on... Josh Gordon. He said it made him lethargic. Ricky Williams quit the NFL so that he could freely smoke pot - after the Dolphins invested millions in him. And you don't think that NFL players being allowed to smoke pot is harmless? Certainly not to the owners. From a business standpoint, testing for ANY illicit, addictive drug (physically or psychologically) makes a ton of sense.

 

The NFL, like any other business, has the right to drug test their players. You can choose to dislike it, but to imply that it's Unconstitutional is just plain incorrect.

 

The NFLPA is a joke.  Ask the Webster family how well the NFLPA looks out for the welfare of it's players.

 

Ask the employees at United Airlines who they'd rather have a pension plan with - their current employer or the NFL. Ask them to choose between the minimum salary that their union negotiated or what the NFLPA was able to do. NFL players make a killing and those that can manage to stay in the league for 4 or 5 years are pretty much set for life. The NFLPA's strategy of not being obnoxiously greedy or power-hungry has worked a lot better than, say, the NHLPA's strategy. How much are NHL players earning now?

Edited June 1, 2005 by Bill Swerski