Wonder if the NFL and NBA will follow in MLB's footsteps

[Tribal Chief]

Not directly TATF but it's football and could possibly impact the Falcons in the future if it were to ever happen. Sorry this isn't a thread complaining about Quinn. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonywitrado/2019/12/16/mlbs-new-marijuana-policy-could-spark-change-in-nfl-and-nba-policy/?fbclid=IwAR0vgv8P0Y8bVV-GfSInPa_PZl-dS1oGeMKT0czxlfp4pPc4sHGUkAuEThs#71f087a942a1

Major League Baseball and its Players Association just might have made themselves leaders in the latest social progression movement in professional sports.

Baseball’s announcement Thursday that it would start testing for opioids and also drop punishments for substances of abuse, like marijuana and cocaine, and opt for treatment instead could be a siren for other leagues like the NBA and NFL. This follows decisions by some states to legalize marijuana, which factored into MLB and the MLBPA agreeing to their new policy.

The policy is now on the same level as alcohol-related situations, with players generally referred to mandatory evaluation and voluntary treatment. The policy will also hold for minor leaguers, who until this change were suspended for second and subsequent positive marijuana tests. 

“It was part of a larger conversation that was reflective of the attitudes changing in many parts of the country,” union leader Tony Clark said.

The opioid portion of the policy was spurred by last season’s death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who had a mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone in his system. From 2015-2018, the Council of Economic Advisers estimated the cost of opioid abuse in the United States costs more than $2.5 trillion. 

 

 

The marijuana policy change was more likely driven by those changing attitudes Clark referenced. 

According to a study done by ESPN last spring, of the 123 teams across MLB, the NBA, NHL and NFL, 45 play in states or provinces where recreational marijuana use is legal, and another 56 play in areas where medical marijuana is legal. That’s 82 percent of teams over the four major professional North American sports leagues.

The NFL and NBA put players who test positive in a substance abuse program before fines and suspensions for subsequent positives. The NHL, the first leader in this North American pro sports arena, recommends treatment for “abnormally high levels” of THC (marijuana), but they do not punish players.

MLB undoubtedly took the NHL’s policy into consideration as they drafted theirs. And it’s come with positive reactions.

“Baseball is looking at their players like people and saying we are going to treat you like people,” ESPN’s Bomani Jones said Friday on his show, High Noon. “Why doesn’t everybody else treat their players like people?”

There is no question that today’s American societal views have allowed MLB to do this and receive praise. If that were not the case, this policy likely does not change even if MLB officials saw it as the right thing to do. Public relations and public reaction are powerful, and MLB no doubt weighed those reactions as part of its decision.

The opioid crisis in the United States also undoubtedly played a part. Since its debut into public consciousness, opioid abuse has never been looked at the same way the crack or cocaine epidemic was, to use Jones’ analogy. Skaggs’ death – Skaggs was white – was not viewed through the same lens as Len Bias’ death from a cocaine overdose more than 33 years ago, though both were seen as tragedies. Jones believes race has played a role in how abuse of these drugs is looked at, and he’s probably correct in that assessment.

“I don’t know exactly how this goes if we say that some other player, a Dominican cat or somebody else, in baseball dies,” Jones said. “I don’t know exactly how that plays. But I know the so-called opioid crisis and the way that we discuss it, the way the media has discussed it, has been from a very compassionate point of view, and that’s largely because of who the face of the users are.”

However we got here – and that can be debated – MLB and the NHL have landed in the proper space, or as Jones notes, treating offenders like people. That is a huge win for players, and it will hopefully give the NFL and NBA the cover those leagues must feel they need to also change their drug policies.

So not only have the NHL and MLB helped their players, maybe they’ll be helping others in other sports going forward.

[Duff_Man]

NHL: "Punching another guy in the face is still a five minute penalty. And encouraged."

[thanat0s]

The whole idea of embracing/ignoring/neutrality (describe it how you like) drug use/abuse by players is the first step to the end of pro sports. It’ll be a long road, to be sure, but the association of a sport being so painful that the participants need drugs to cope?

Parents won’t be so quick to encourage their children to pursue them. As time passes, societal changes will kill the entire industry. Likely within this century. 

[Tribal Chief]

5 minutes ago, thanat0s said:

The whole idea of embracing/ignoring/neutrality (describe it how you like) drug use/abuse by players is the first step to the end of pro sports. It’ll be a long road, to be sure, but the association of a sport being so painful that the participants need drugs to cope?

Parents won’t be so quick to encourage their children to pursue them. As time passes, societal changes will kill the entire industry. Likely within this century. 

Only opinion I have on this is that kids/teens are going to do what they want regardless. Don't need a celebrity figure to influence it. I don't have an issue with marijuana usage from an athlete. I get why they choose to do it. I think there should be some type of language involved where it isn't to a point they're blazing in the locker room or parking lot. 

That being said, I'm pretty sure this thread is gonna get political and eventually get locked or moved. If it get's too bad i'll delete it if I catch it first because I know how this topic gets

[IA Falcon07]

5 minutes ago, thanat0s said:

The whole idea of embracing/ignoring/neutrality (describe it how you like) drug use/abuse by players is the first step to the end of pro sports. It’ll be a long road, to be sure, but the association of a sport being so painful that the participants need drugs to cope?

Parents won’t be so quick to encourage their children to pursue them. As time passes, societal changes will kill the entire industry. Likely within this century. 

There is no association between sports being so painful that drugs are needed.  The association is that drugs (right, wrong, or indifferent) are becoming a societal normal just like alcohol.  

[Shelley#37]

5 hours ago, ya_boi_j said:

Sorry this isn't a thread complaining about Quinn. 

[Tribal Chief]

1 minute ago, Shelley#37 said:

Had to drop that 

[Nino11]

They should. I’ve never been a fan of policing what somebody does with their body. Don’t see why the leagues feel they have to 

[FalconAge]

1 hour ago, thanat0s said:

The whole idea of embracing/ignoring/neutrality (describe it how you like) drug use/abuse by players is the first step to the end of pro sports. It’ll be a long road, to be sure, but the association of a sport being so painful that the participants need drugs to cope?

Parents won’t be so quick to encourage their children to pursue them. As time passes, societal changes will kill the entire industry. Likely within this century. 

Which sport did embracing/ignoring/neutrality drug use/abuse of alcohol kill?

[Duff_Man]

1 hour ago, thanat0s said:

The whole idea of embracing/ignoring/neutrality (describe it how you like) drug use/abuse by players is the first step to the end of pro sports. It’ll be a long road, to be sure, but the association of a sport being so painful that the participants need drugs to cope?

Parents won’t be so quick to encourage their children to pursue them. As time passes, societal changes will kill the entire industry. Likely within this century. 

Suspending players doesn't help them. Getting people with problems help is a far better solution. They haven't found a way to eliminate drug use from sports since the dawn of pro sports leagues, so what's really the difference?

[octoslash]

Punishing anyone (not just athletes)  for smoking weed is the height of nonsense, especially while we're all free to swiss-cheese our livers legally with booze and pills.  

[Boise Falcon Fan]

2 hours ago, thanat0s said:

The whole idea of embracing/ignoring/neutrality (describe it how you like) drug use/abuse by players is the first step to the end of pro sports. It’ll be a long road, to be sure, but the association of a sport being so painful that the participants need drugs to cope?

Parents won’t be so quick to encourage their children to pursue them. As time passes, societal changes will kill the entire industry. Likely within this century. 

I agree. It has been happening slowly for awhile. There are also a lot more options for kids that weren't available in my area when I was younger.  They have rugby, lacrosse, etc. Football, the way we know it, probably won't exist in 50 - 100 years.

[Tribal Chief]

10 minutes ago, Boise Falcon Fan said:

I agree. It has been happening slowly for awhile. There are also a lot more options for kids that weren't available in my area when I was younger.  They have rugby, lacrosse, etc. Football, the way we know it, probably won't exist in 50 - 100 years.

most of us will be dead by then

[Lethal]

13 minutes ago, Boise Falcon Fan said:

I agree. It has been happening slowly for awhile. There are also a lot more options for kids that weren't available in my area when I was younger.  They have rugby, lacrosse, etc. Football, the way we know it, probably won't exist in 50 - 100 years.

I mean our fathers and grandfathers would say that football the way they knew it doesn't exist today, that doesn't say much.  The game is always going to change with the times.

Also, of course the NFL cannot continue this historic rise of prosperity forever, but I think stories of it's demise at least for the very forseeable future are greatly overstated. 

To the point of the topic, I hope they do.  More and more info and data is coming in as to the benefits of marijuana.  The war on weed the NFL has employeed, especially while employing wife abusers, child abusers,  criminals etc. is very hypocritical and laughable.  If you think weed is the devil, go watch the documentary on Jim McMahon.

[thanat0s]

5 hours ago, IA Falcon07 said:

There is no association between sports being so painful that drugs are needed.  The association is that drugs (right, wrong, or indifferent) are becoming a societal normal just like alcohol.  

There is absolutely a 100% connection. Players get hooked on opioids due to pain from injuries. Ex-players have often mentioned smoking marijuana as a treatment for career related pain. 

Parents see that. Society is already changing dramatically when it comes to sports consumption. As Boise pointed out, the sheer access to other activities is changing the landscape of parenting. In ten or twenty years, when the children of today have kids, they’ll very likely be steering their kids into healthier activities that don’t carry the risks of traditional contact sports. 

[thanat0s]

3 hours ago, FalconAge said:

Which sport did embracing/ignoring/neutrality drug use/abuse of alcohol kill?

I can’t answer a question when the characterization of my post is wildly inaccurate. 

[Tribal Chief]

4 minutes ago, thanat0s said:

There is absolutely a 100% connection. Players get hooked on opioids due to pain from injuries. Ex-players have often mentioned smoking marijuana as a treatment for career related pain. 

Parents see that. Society is already changing dramatically when it comes to sports consumption. As Boise pointed out, the sheer access to other activities is changing the landscape of parenting. In ten or twenty years, when the children of today have kids, they’ll very likely be steering their kids into healthier activities that don’t carry the risks of traditional contact sports. 

But again, kids are going to do what they want regardless. The parents can keep them away from every piece of media surrounding drugs and all it will take is peer pressure for the kid to get hooked. Can’t blame celebrity figures on that. The parent could have perfect parenting habits and the kid still does what they want in the end. That’s reality

[thanat0s]

5 hours ago, ya_boi_j said:

Only opinion I have on this is that kids/teens are going to do what they want regardless. Don't need a celebrity figure to influence it. I don't have an issue with marijuana usage from an athlete. I get why they choose to do it. I think there should be some type of language involved where it isn't to a point they're blazing in the locker room or parking lot. 

That being said, I'm pretty sure this thread is gonna get political and eventually get locked or moved. If it get's too bad i'll delete it if I catch it first because I know how this topic gets

Though the optics aren’t really part of my point,  young children are highly susceptible to being influenced by people who are in the public eye. That influence only becomes stronger as access to information, and the tentacles of marketers of that influence become stronger. 

Having said that, my point is really that society’s idea of what is important, and how time is best spent, is already changing drastically from the gen Xers like me and others. 

Young people don’t even have TVs in many cases now. They don’t see the value in sitting there watching sports when the world is outside their doors. That imperils  pro sports on its own. Add the linkage that will inevitably form between drugs, legal or not, and risky contact sports, and it’s all but certain they’ll eventually become irrelevant. 

[Lethal]

10 minutes ago, thanat0s said:

Young people don’t even have TVs in many cases now. They don’t see the value in sitting there watching sports when the world is outside their doors. 

Have you met young people?!

[Doctor Kildare]

I think the Falcons might be helped by a new NFL rule not allowing in-game drug use by the referees.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Doctor Kildare

[thanat0s]

6 hours ago, athell said:

Have you met young people?!

As an example, I have five nieces and nephews in their mid to late 20s. I have a girlfriend who is 33. I have more TVs in my house than all of them combined. They, their spouses and friends all watch streams on mobile devices when they do watch anything.

Their free time is spent plotting out their next travel adventure, going to concerts, or trying new restaurants, etc., while they’re young, They are not obsessing over what color jersey does what with a ball. 

[Lethal]

7 minutes ago, thanat0s said:

As an example, I have five nieces and nephews in their mid to late 20s. I have a girlfriend who is 33. I have more TVs in my house than all of them combined. They, their spouses and friends all watch streams on mobile devices when they do watch anything.

Their free time is spent plotting out their next travel adventure, going to concerts, or trying new restaurants, etc., while they’re young, They are not obsessing over what color jersey does what with a ball. 

Ok that's older than I was thinking.  I have 3 kids, 15, 14, 11 and lead a small group at my church of 8th graders as well as involved in the other youth programs and I swear all they wanna do is play on their phones, watch youtube videos and play fortnite lol.  I have to push them to get out the dang house!  It's not like when we were kids, and I even grew up with NES.  I was always outside with my friends playing every sport.

[thanat0s]

1 minute ago, athell said:

Ok that's older than I was thinking.  I have 3 kids, 15, 14, 11 and lead a small group at my church of 8th graders as well as involved in the other youth programs and I swear all they wanna do is play on their phones, watch youtube videos and play fortnite lol.  I have to push them to get out the dang house!  It's not like when we were kids, and I even grew up with NES.  I was always outside with my friends playing every sport.

Lol, my 7 year old godson loves his phone and tablet for YouTube and fortnite, so I feel you. But he’s on a short leash with that. We keep him busy with outside play, he’s on a new basketball team,  and I try to pass along an interest my bad art and music playing, lol. 

Even if it’s something he hates, it’s important to expose him to as many hobbies as possible, I think. You never know when something will stick. 

[Lethal]

13 minutes ago, thanat0s said:

Lol, my 7 year old godson loves his phone and tablet for YouTube and fortnite, so I feel you. But he’s on a short leash with that. We keep him busy with outside play, he’s on a new basketball team,  and I try to pass along an interest my bad art and music playing, lol. 

Even if it’s something he hates, it’s important to expose him to as many hobbies as possible, I think. You never know when something will stick. 

Absolutely!  Agreed 100%

[Falcons_Frenzy]

RIP Tyler Skaggs