Report: Fred Davis, Trent Williams suspended four games

[itvnetop]

Originally Posted by Hog1

What....exactly do you base that statement on?

I base the statement on the fact that as long as players are producing on the field, fans (including myself) don't really give a hoot what they do on their own time... as long as it's not hurting anyone else. How much "partying" hurts themselves is semantics. It only becomes an issue with fans when players get caught and then reprimanded (thereby affecting the team and its potential weakness caused by punishment).

Out of sight, out of mind for most sports fans. When LT was racking up sacks, how many Giants' fans knew that the only thing he thought about in the huddle was his next crack hit? How many even cared? It didn't really come out until later. Out of sight, out of mind.

Professional athletes live lives that the average person will never come close to comprehending. We sit here and say, "Follow the rules... it's simple. Don't screw up." Throw a bunch of money, beautiful woman and an entourage of sycophants toward a young 20 something and human nature may change anyone.

Then it becomes "What can I get away with" vs. "What do I know will get me in trouble?" My original point stands that harder drugs are much more difficult to catch in a random drug test. The league's policy has a list of banned substances, including recreational drugs. The least harmful (marijuana) is easy to catch. You're basically saying, "If you're going to party, do it smart... do blow or ecstasy because you won't get caught." And that's a much more harmful proposition, imo.

This is going out on a limb here (wayyyy out)- But as an analogy: We tell kids the only way to protect themselves from an STD or an unwanted pregnancy is abstinence. Do kids really listen to that? Nope- we should be teaching them safer sex habits... Abstinence flies in the face of teen curiosity.

Many professional athletes are going to party... it's a given. Do we want some of them moving away from weed to Class 1 drugs b/c the latter won't get you popped? Baron Davis said that the NBA would cease to exist if the league tested for marijuana. I don't remember the specific percentage, but it was close to half I think.