OTish: Legal change impact on sports in CO & WA

on twitter that as long as we stuck to the sports impact aspect we were okay.

Its about rule of law.

Your post is well stated. I am part of several voluntary organizations, one of which is job related, which have stipulations about substance use and other actions. Even though I could disregard these directives, I choose not to, as a matter of personal integrity. In one case, I would clearly disqualify myself from my position were I to make certain (legal) choices.

Athletes are in an analogous situation. They have certain rules and guidelines which they can abide by or not. If your employer/team states, "Don't smoke pot or you will lose your job," you have to decide whether that's a risk you want to take. Your employer often has the right to stipulate what you can do, particularly if your actions can affect job performance. A good example would be the stipulation that aircraft pilots cannot drink alcohol in the 4 hours prior to flying. It is generally accepted that drinking alcohol in that time frame could adversely affect job performance for a pilot.

There are at least 4 options as to the position you take:

1. The action is wrong in and of itself.
2. The action has been declared illegal, and is wrong because of this declaration.
3. The action has been declared illegal, and is wrong if you are caught.
4. The action has been declared illegal, which is irrelevant because the laws don't apply to you (above the law.)

With regards to marijuana use, I suspect most would say that smoking pot isn't wrong in and of itself (as witnessed by the law change in CO & WA.) What makes pot smoking "wrong" is that it has been declared "illegal" or off limits. For many, they choose not to smoke pot, because it is illegal. For some, the legality is a mere nuisance, and the issue is whether or not you are apprehended. For a few individuals (athletes, extremely wealthy individuals, well connected powerful individuals,) the law is ignored with impunity, because of the belief that "no one would dare to arrest me." I wonder if this was the kind of mindset with Terrell Pryor et al at Ohio.

Coming back to the OP, I think most athletes would fall into categories 2 or 3. There are a few idiots who would actually take position 4.

Vlade Divac never got that memo

know about that.  Transporation across states lines certainly is still illegal, and I am assuming that distribution of it is still illegal in these states, but I don't think simple possession and use of personal amounts is a federal criminal violation.  If it was a federal law a state could not pass a law making it legal.

This one is all yours . . .

I knew Reggie Bush didn't win that Heisman legitimately!

And Bri'onte Dunn(s mom).

of interviewing the director of scouting department for a NFL team last year.  He mentioned that if you take player's name off the board for failed drug test on pot, there almost literally wouldn't be anybody left on the board.  He estimated about 85% of the players have gotten caught with pot or failed pot test before ever taking a first snap as a NFL player.  He said what matters the most is the frequency and the time in which they failed the team.  The less frequent, the better.  The earlier the time, the better because if you got caught early on and never failed again, it tells him that he matured.

Look at Calvin Johnson.  He admitted to smoking pot at GT in NFL combine interview.  Did it deter him from getting drafted at #2 overall? No.  Did it deter his success in the NFL? No.

This says it all - and I don't see the NCAA changing this rule even if every state legalized pot.

How regular do you think the NCAA tests players?



Yearly, the NCAA only tests a handful of players from a select number of teams at each school. They also test a handful of players from teams that make it to the post season.



Each school also has their own set of policies and although they tend to test more players the penalty is far less egregious. First offense at most schools is a slap on the wrist and a call to their parents.



Personally, I was not tested one time by either my institution or the NCAA in the 5 years I participated as a student-athlete.

But I kind of see Colorado getting Top-10 recruiting classes, and then going 1-11 every year.

changing my mgousername to "rob f in Colorado"?

Though I think time will prove you wrong on your last point.