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There was an interesting take on the Sheldon Richardson suspension that was published, and I want to put this article under the microscope and give you my take . . .
Darryl Slater does a nice job covering the Jets for the Newark Star-Ledger. He had an eclectic take on the Richardson pot suspension.
Here is some of what Slater wrote . . .
“It doesn’t make him a cheater who used performance-enhancing drugs to gain an advantage on the field.”
“Jets’ Sheldon Richardson suspension an indictment of his common sense, not his character.”
“Nor does it make him a bad guy with a broken moral compass. Plenty of NFL players smoke marijuana.”
“This doesn’t make him a terrible person or a drug addict.”
Agree with the first point. Smoking pot doesn’t give a player an advantage on the field. In fact, it might actually hurt a player a little considering pot can impact “motivation, memory and ability to concentrate,” according to the experts at Phoenix House, a prominent drug rehabilitation center located in 10 states. They have been treating people for 50 years.
As for the point that this isn’t an indictment of his character, that is debatable. Some might argue that it shows poor character to let your teammates down by getting suspended for smoking pot. Richardson is a very important player for the Jets. He had already failed one test. He knew one more failed test meant a four-game suspension, and clearly he kept smoking pot nonetheless. So by continuing to indulge, and getting banned for the first four games of the 2015 season, he let down his teammates, coaches and the fans. Not a move steeped in character.
As for the argument that “plenty of players smoke marijuana” so that makes the indiscretion less significant, I don’t buy that.
You are working for the NFL. The NFL doesn’t allow it. You know that if you do it, you could get caught and be suspended. So the “plenty of players smoke” argument doesn’t hold water. Players work for a company that doesn’t allow it. If they want to be able to smoke and be employed, go work for a company that doesn’t test.
As for the fourth point, I agree that smoking pot doesn’t make Sheldon “a terrible person.” As for the assertion that this doesn’t make him a “drug addict.” This is debatable. The debate over whether pot is addictive has been going on forever. I’m not a drug counselor, but the mere fact that Sheldon couldn’t stop smoking, with so much at stake (this suspension will cost Richardson about $640,000 in salary), makes you wonder about the addictive qualities of pot.
One more line from Slater’s blog – “[The NFL’ drug policy], like a lot of things the NFL does, mostly defies common sense, since marijuana has been proven to be largely harmless.”
Talk about something that is debatable. I’m not an expert on this subject, so I will defer to Phoenix House on whether pot is harmless.
“Marijuana use has disrupted lives and families and affected their motivation, memory, schoolwork or careers. It can also damage the heart and lungs, increase the incidence of anxiety and depression, and trigger psychotic episodes.”
Slater does a terrific job of covering the Jets. I just felt this particular blog was subject to debate.
July 3, 2015
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