Jerry Jones Agrees That The NFL Should Research Benefits Of Cannabis
At the beginning of this year the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) announced that it would be proposing a ‘less punitive’ NFL cannabis policy. Details of exactly what that would look like have still yet to surface. That announcement has since been followed by an announcement earlier this month that the National Football League (NFL) has expressed an interest in working with the NFLPA to explore the idea of allowing medical cannabis use for pain management. Per the Washington Post:
The NFL has written to the NFL Players Association offering to work in tandem to study the potential use of marijuana as a pain management tool for players, according to people familiar with the situation.
It is the clearest indication to this point that the league may be willing to work cooperatively with the union toward such marijuana use, which is currently banned by the sport.
The NFLPA is conducting its own study and, according to those familiar with the deliberations, is yet to respond to the NFL’s offer to cooperate on marijuana-related research.
The Uncle Cliffy team endorsed the idea of medical cannabis legalization in the NFL at the time of both announcements, but made sure to make it clear that such a league policy change should be seen as a step in the right direction, and not as a permanent solution. If only medical cannabis use were to be allowed by the NFL, it would not eliminate the institutional racism that is perpetuated by the NFL’s current policy of suspending players when they are arrested for cannabis. Highlighting the issue is the case of Green Bay Packers receiver Geronimo Allison, who was suspended by the NFL after cannabis was found in his car by law enforcement during a traffic stop away from the team.
Nationally, African Americans are almost four times as likely to be arrested for cannabis compared to Caucasians, even though consumption rates are relatively the same between races. In Wisconsin, African Americans are six times as likely to be arrested for cannabis. So if an African American NFL player (such as Geronimo Allison) is six times as likely to be arrested for cannabis off the field, then they are also six times as likely to be suspended by the NFL because of cannabis. Allowing medical cannabis use in the NFL would not fix that issue.
With that being said, the Uncle Cliffy team still supports what the NFL is doing and hopes that it results in some meaningful results. Allowing players to use cannabis for pain management is an outstanding improvement on the current NFL cannabis policy. The always outspoken owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, also supports what the NFL is doing, per an article by NBC Sports:
“I agree with what the NFL is doing,” Jones said in his Hall of Fame press conference. “There is real fertile ground there. It is a labor issue that like several things, not just that one, I understand the sensitivity about that particular issue. A lot of people would disagree it’s a labor issue, but that’s the way these things work. A lot of things get thrown in that hat. The fact we’re discussing it, it’s no secret the Players Association have wanted to discuss that area and do better in that area.
“I think that’s accurate that we should have it as something to improve on. The problem I’m having here is I do not know what is the definition of improvement, but we can all do better here.”
Jerry Jones did not want to go into the particulars of what an NFL policy should look like in an ideal situation, but the Uncle Cliffy team thinks that the solution is clear – free the plant. The Uncle Cliffy team has been calling for, and will continue calling for, a complete end to cannabis prohibition in the NFL. Cannabis is safer than alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs, substances which the NFL widely embraces. Cannabis is legal for adult-use in eight states and Washington D.C., and will soon be legal in many more states.
It’s time that the NFL looked at the facts and allowed science and compassion determine the league’s cannabis policy, and not outdated political views. Cannabis prohibition is harmful, both in society and in professional sports. The Uncle Cliffy team would like to (again) give a big hat tip to Jerry Jones for speaking out in support of this important issue.
image via NBC
NFL Offers To Work With NFLPA To Study Cannabis For Pain Management
In January the Uncle Cliffy team posted an article highlighting an announcement by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) that it would be proposing a ‘less punitive’ NFL cannabis policy. Details of exactly what that would look like have yet to surface. Late yesterday the National Football League (NFL) expressed an interest in working with the NFLPA to explore the idea of allowing medical cannabis use for pain management. Per the Washington Post:
The NFL has written to the NFL Players Association offering to work in tandem to study the potential use of marijuana as a pain management tool for players, according to people familiar with the situation.
It is the clearest indication to this point that the league may be willing to work cooperatively with the union toward such marijuana use, which is currently banned by the sport.
The NFLPA is conducting its own study and, according to those familiar with the deliberations, is yet to respond to the NFL’s offer to cooperate on marijuana-related research.
This is a big departure from previous comments made by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In April Mr. Goodell expressed a belief that cannabis has no medical value. That claim is of course false, which the Uncle Cliffy team was quick to point out.
“Commissioner Goodell’s comments aren’t just scientifically inaccurate, they are harmful to players.” Cliff Robinson said at the time of Roger Goodell’s anti-cannabis comments. “By denying cannabis’ medical value, Mr. Goodell negatively impacts the important conversation regarding medical cannabis and players in the NFL. Cannabis can help players that are battling brain injuries, chronic pain, and other conditions. But rather than work on a policy that is based on science and compassion for players, the Commissioner appears to want to continue to enforce a failed policy, and in the process, push players towards more harmful substances like opioid painkillers.”
The Uncle Cliffy team will be keeping a close eye on this story to see how it develops. With no details emerging thus far about what the NFL and NFLPA working in tandem to craft a ‘less punitive’ cannabis policy would look like, all we can do is sit and wait. We truly hope that the studies and conversations are meaningful and constructive, and that they lead to an improved NFL cannabis policy. It would be very disheartening if yesterday’s announcement by the league turned out to just be empty rhetoric.
An NFL cannabis policy that allows medical cannabis use would be a great step in the right direction, but would be an approach that would not go far enough in our opinion. As we pointed out in a previous article, anything short of a complete end to cannabis prohibition in the NFL would result in institutional racism continuing to be perpetuated by the league. Players like Geronimo Allison, who was recently caught with cannabis in a non-medical state, would still be punished by the league, despite the fact that Mr. Allison was the victim of a law that affects African Americans at six times the rate of Caucasians.
If an African American NFL player is 6 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis off the field, such as in Geronimo Allison’s case in Wisconsin, then that player is also 6 times as likely to be punished by the NFL for cannabis. An updated NFL cannabis policy needs to address that issue, which the current proposal would not do. The Uncle Cliffy team feels that the only way to do that is to end cannabis prohibition in the NFL altogether.
A medical-only approach to an NFL cannabis policy will still result in players of certain races being targeted off the field, and in the process, result in them having their NFL careers disproportionately impacted. It would likely also lead to unequal protections under the hypothetical NFL cannabis policy, with some players’ use being considered to be medical in nature, and others being labeled as ‘abuse.’ That’s a situation that NFL players should want to avoid by all means necessary.
image via Wikipedia