redsahx said:
What I was trying to get at was perhaps they should revisit "the program". I'm not going to defend the decision-making skills of Josh Gordon, and perhaps I should clarify that I'm not asking the NFL to let him off scot-free (especially because of the DUI on top of it). However, does the NFL really need to be banning people for entire seasons over marijuana (something Gordon was facing before the DUI incident came along). I'm not a marijuana advocate by any means, I'm just not sure the NFL really needs to be treating its use by a player as a very serious offense, even if they happen to be in the drug program for smoking it in the first place.
There's a thread on Gordon and a thread on Blackmon and I think your POV would be more appropriate in those threads.
But again, I disagree with the bolded sentence. The NFL does "need to be banning" players who repeatedly chose to violate the substance abuse program. Absent some consequence, Gordon or Blackmon could be the next Leonard Little.
In any employment situation, there are rules that must be followed or your job could be in jeopardy. It is misguided to make the Gordon or Blackmon suspensions about pot. They are likely going to be banned for life from the NFL for repeatedly making bad decisions, even after being given "second chances". The NFL, in the case of Gordon and Blackmon, is NOT "treating [marijuana] use by players as a very serious offense". The NFL, in the case of Gordon and Blackmon, is treating multiple violations of a "don't do that" rule like violations of a "don't do that" rule.
Again, if you personally think that pot should not be on the list of the NFL's banned substances, I would agree. But this is NOT about that. It is about a repeated inability to follow the rules. And the resulting dangerous behavior that these men chose to engage in.