4 Things Pro Sports Should Embrace About Cannabis

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Professional sports is undoubtedly a unique line of work. Games we fell in love with as children are making grown men and women millions of dollars annually. Millions of people watch religiously, and wear the colors of their favorite team proudly for the world (and Jets fans) to see every Sunday. But a harsh reality in the world of professional sports is that our entertainment, at times, comes at the cost of another human being’s health and well-being.

Occasionally, I have to look away from the game. Especially when I hear words like those of Kevin Harlan during the Celtics and Cavaliers game on October 17, 2017. The definitive, “Gordon Hayward has broken his leg” call that came twice from commentary was a tough pill to swallow.

Many professional athletes deal with chronic pain their entire playing careers. The wear and tear of playing physical sports such as football, hockey, basketball, and mixed martial arts means tens of thousands of professional athletes must take additional care of their body on a regular basis while they play. Being proactive, however, does not guarantee physical immunity long term. To address the need for healthcare, most professional sports organizations have continually provided athletes with the conventional supply of painkillers and prescription opioids to mitigate pain.

As a consequence, many professional athletes deal with pain sustained during their playing career long after they have retired. Even worse is that some athletes end up addicted to pain pills and opioids, and eventually lose their well-being and life in the process.

If professional sports embraced a non-conventional stance on player safety and wellness, specifically one that allows players to consume cannabis freely, it would be a tremendously beneficial step for the safety of professional athletes.

Here are 4 Things Pro Sports Should Embrace About Weed:

#1- Many athletes consume it!
According to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Bas Rutten, nearly 80% of the UFC consumes cannabis to recover. Interestingly, this did not stop Nick Diaz from being suspended by the UFC for 5 years due to testing positive for cannabis. Additionally, former NFL player Eben Britton says at least 50% of football players use weed, despite the NFL’s harsh punishments for cannabis users; such as Josh Gordon’s league ban. The NBA has been thought to employ many cannabis users as well, as former player Jay Williams estimated 80% of players self-medicate. (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-thiersch/professional-athletes-call_b_9567716.html)

In fact, this past summer, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported smelling burning marijuana in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room following an NBA finals game against the Golden State Warriors. Other well known cannabis users throughout NBA history include hall of fame coach Phil Jackson and current Sacramento Kings player Zach Randolph; who recently faced charges for possession of marijuana.

With the exception of the NFL, professional sports organizations do not typically suspend players for solely consuming weed. More often than not, athletes are suspended for violating the performance enhancing element of a league’s wellness policy. The NHL and MLB are known as being fairly lenient when it comes to cannabis, as they focus the distribution of suspensions on athletes that use substances like steroids and amphetamines to gain a competitive edge on the field. Rather than crack down on guys using weed to deal with general wear and tear, professional sports organizations care more about influencing how the public perceive their players and product.

Organizations such as the NFL care more about ‘protecting the shield’. If a particular story might negatively impact reputation, ratings and earnings, the league will do what it can to bury the lead. This means that stigma attached to cannabis is leading pro sports organizations to either avoid cannabis discussions among players (such as the MLB, NHL, NBA, and UFC) or aggressively prohibit weed altogether (the NFL).

Ironically, the number of athletes that consume cannabis would suggest professional sports organizations could do a lot more work on removing cannabis stigma simply by letting it be up to the players to decide if they consume it or not. Especially since a majority of professional sports already concede cannabis doesn’t enhance physical performance. So why not embrace giving the players an informed choice on consuming cannabis, rather then continuing to pump them with pain pills?

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