FreddieMercuryHayes

April 7th, 2014 at 5:57 PM ^

One thing I've never understood about athletes and marijuana, is why would they smoke in the first place.  Now, honestly, if it's in moderation then it's probably not going to affect them, but smoking weed still puts tar and carbon monoxide into your lungs and damages the tissues.  If you want to be an elite athlete, why would you want to smoke anything?

FreddieMercuryHayes

April 7th, 2014 at 6:14 PM ^

No ones arguing those things aren't awesome.  But what if those things directly affected your ability to do, you know, do your job?  Or do your job at an elite level, which is something I assume most every college or professional athlete wants to do.  Eating food is awesome too.  But you also don't want to pack on 100 pounds in the offseason because you ate too much if you want to be an professional football player (looking at you Vince Young/Cheesecake Factory).

aplatypus

April 7th, 2014 at 6:26 PM ^

who can't focus on anything, forget what they're doing every 30 seconds and couldn't catch a football if it was handed to them. 

Regardless of that, it doesn't matter if it's legal in some places - the fact that he willfully and repeatedly does something he knows is against the law, against the NCAA rules, and against his team's rules is just stupid. 

bronxblue

April 7th, 2014 at 8:37 PM ^

And if your employer explicitly said you would not be able to work if they found out you were smoking pot, I'd suspect you would at least think twice about doing it that frequently.

The point isn't that banning pot smoking is unnecessary (I tend to agree that it should be allowed in moderation, same as alcohol), but if that's the rule you shouldn't do it, or at the bare minimum not be surprised when you are caught and punished.

Monocle Smile

April 7th, 2014 at 10:24 PM ^

This is precisely why the law doesn't actually matter. These situations have nothing to do with legality or morality. The rule is the rule, and while you can work to change it, you don't get to complain when you blatantly disregard it and get hit with the consequences.

madmaxweb

April 7th, 2014 at 6:05 PM ^

As a guess and not knowing if this is true or not but could smoking weed help relieve his pain easier/quicker than pain medicine would (Personally I know pain medicine does very little if any help when I'm in pain without taking unhealthy amounts of it)? Or he just likes to smoke it.

Bluegoose

April 7th, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^

in almost every way (no letters please). Except for its legality, weed is quick, clean, and no after effects. Your liver won't fall out and your brain and memory will remain in tact. Weed does not mess with your training unless that's  all you do. On the other hand, alcohol really affects your conditioning. Simple.

bronxblue

April 7th, 2014 at 8:40 PM ^

I guess I'll take your word on it not messing with your athletic training; most guys I know who smoke a lot of pot sure don't seem to be in great shape.

20-year-olds can basically do anything to their bodies without an immediate effect.  But long-term, neither is particularly good for your body unless in moderation.  And I do tend to think the negative effects on lung capacity due to inhaling smoke are more damaging than making your liver work a bit extra once a day.

kdhoffma

April 7th, 2014 at 6:35 PM ^

With the high numbers (pun intended) of pro football players that we know are occasional to regular marijuana users, perhaps we should consider that marijuana use helps them reach their athletic ceiling.  It might help with their mental outlook or put their body into a state which allows better rest between workouts/games.  Maybe there is some merit to the Ricky Williams excuse that for a guy with anxiety/depression issues, pot may be one of the few drugs with limited side effects that allows an athlete to deal with the mental/physical stresses of playing pro sports.

dRich

April 7th, 2014 at 9:21 PM ^

Means of marijuana consumption outside of smoking... Edibles and vapes are good alternatives. Who cares if these kids are smoking... They put their safety and well being on the line for education/a shot at the pros. What's it matter if they like to smoke one and chill out. Michael phelps and Usane Bolt smoke recreationally and they seem to do fine in their prospective sports...

rainingmaize

April 7th, 2014 at 5:50 PM ^

I still remember hearing about how Pinkel showed up in a helicopter at DGB's high school during his intense recruitment. There's no evidence that this constant attention and praises he's ben receiving has effected him, but I wouldn't be surprised. 

UMgradMSUdad

April 7th, 2014 at 5:50 PM ^

I was at the Cotton Bowl in January, and he looked like a man among boys compared to the Okie State DBs trying to cover him.  I hope he gets things straightened out.

white_pony_rocks

April 7th, 2014 at 6:06 PM ^

if somebody told you you could make millions of dollars but if you were caught smoking weed you could potentially lose out on most if not all of it, would you still smoke it?  $$$>weed