On Monday, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Josh Gordon was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating both its substance abuse and PED policies.
This suspension caught Gordon’s teammates by surprise. Even though it was the fifth time the troubled receiver has been suspended by the NFL, Gordon seemed to be in a good place off the field.
Now that they have had a few days to grasp the magnitude of Gordon’s suspension, the receiver’s teammates are now calling out the NFL for its policy banning marijuana.
“I think they need to look way more into it,” veteran linebacker K.J. Wright said, via NBC Sports Northwest. “Obviously the old mentality of marijuana – that it’s just terrible for you and just does bad stuff for you – I think they need to take a look into it. I don’t know why it’s still a rule.”
We’re fully expecting a new marijuana policy to be included in the ongoing collective bargaining talks. It’s a point of emphasis for the NFLPA and its players.
Wright makes a strong point without going after the NFL too much. His teammate, Pro Bowler Bobby Wagner, was not as kind. “Is it legalized in Seattle? There it is,” Wagner said.
There’s been a strong push for the NFL to utilize marijuana as a pain-killing alternative to more damaging opioids. That’s only magnified with the opioid crisis in the United States.
It was just recently that MLB removed marijuana from its banned substance list for minor league players. MLB doesn’t test those in the majors for the substance.
Hopefully the NFL follows suit here soon.
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