Former defensive lineman Shaun Smith spent nine seasons in the NFL, and he was apparently high during most — if not all — of the games he played.
Smith was one of several athletes who spoke with Master Tesfatsion of Bleacher Report for a feature about NBA and NFL players smoking marijuana, and he said he used to smoke weed before every game. He even revealed how much.
“Yeah, I had a little ritual: Smoke two blunts before every game,” Smith said in a video, as transcribed by Pete Grathoff of the Kanas City Star. “When I smoke, I can focus and actually do the job that I have to do and the tasks. It’s like I’m in the zone. I feel like nobody can stop me when I was out there. It mellowed me out, got me going and it’s the best thing for me.”
You might wonder how Smith was able to get away with it for so long, but the NFL’s drug testing program is very scheduled for players who have not committed violations. They get one annual test for recreational drug use, and the testing window opens on April 20 and closes in August before the start of the regular season.
“I’d fire it up on the way to the stadium, go through the bad neighborhoods of whatever team I was playing with to the city and reflect,” Smith said. “That was my motivation. I’m blessed to be in this position to get up and go do what I love.
“By the time kickoff comes, I’m just at ease. I’m ready now.”
Smith estimated that about 80 percent of NFL players smoke marijuana and that coaches and personnel people also use it. He alluded to many players smoking weed to cope with pain.
“Shoot, the coaches do it,” he said. “Personnel people upstairs do it. Quarterbacks that do it. Guys that are your captains, your leaders of the team that smoke. Everybody has their reason, they are using it for their pain. We’re all big guys and our body hurts.”
Another notable player who spoke with Bleacher Report was former NBA star Matt Barnes, who said he was “medicated” during all of his best games. We have heard other NBA players reveal the same, and we all know about Josh Gordon’s recent revelations about the earlier years in his career. As Smith noted, it is not all that uncommon.
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