Kevin Durant had fragrant meeting with NBA commissioner about cannabis
Kevin Durant met with commissioner Adam Silver about the NBA legalizing cannabis. KD's position was immediately obvious.
"Well he smelled it when I walked in," Durant recounted at the Game Plan sports business conference. "So I didn't really have to say much, you know what I'm saying?"
The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement removes marijuana from the list of banned substances. It also allows players to invest in marijuana and CBD companies, as well as endorse CBD products. In terms of cannabis use, the guidelines and penalties are now similar to those for alcohol use and abuse.
Durant told Andrew Sorkin that he initially called Silver to advocate for the change in the banned substance list, arguing that "the stigma behind it wasn't as negative as it was before. It doesn't affect you in any negative way."
He added, "It's the NBA, man. Everybody does it, to be honest. It's like wine at this point."
To emphasize that point, Durant apparently used some marijuana directly before his meeting with Silver.
Durant has been advocating for the NBA to legalize marijuana since arriving in Brooklyn. His weed use is an open secret in the NBA, with author Matt Sullivan describing Durant's smell as "a distinct blend of Degree deodorant (his sponsor) and the dankest s--- in NYC" and once told Dan Le Batard that KD "smokes even more weed than you would think."
At the same time, Durant's on-court success suggests that the drug doesn't necessarily affect him in any negative way. He's still made the All-Star team every year he's suited up since 2010. If anything, Durant is getting more efficient and effective as a scorer, only getting derailed by injuries.
Weed certainly hasn't hurt his confidence, because no matter how cool and collected Durant is in crunch time, that's nothing compared to the confidence it takes to smoke a joint before a meeting with the NBA commissioner.
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