Gregory tests positive for pot at combine

[RunMickeyRun02]

....

I'm totally rooting for the dude, but my Spider-sense is telling me Gregory never meets his potential.

Me too, I've had the same sense all along even before this weed stuff came up. Nothing to base it on really, I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Stumpy1]

My company has several places of employment in the states of Colorado and Washington and a failed drug test will get you fired. We have a ZERO tolerance policy with any drug, legal or not. We even test for prescription drugs and if you test positive, the company will send you home and contact the doctor and find out if you are to be on them if you do not have a written prescription handy. If you are to be on them, they make you stay home until you are to be off them.

 

[Husker_x]

Then you're not a very good GM. As long as it's against NFL rules it's a risk to take someone who keeps doing it. It matters not one bit how stupid the rule is or if it's legal in all 50 states. All that matter is that the rule exists. If I'm a GM I have to think of the possibility that he'll test positive on more tests.

You're right. I'm so terrible I was never even considered for a single position. Not one. Ever.

But it matters to me. My favorite message board gets cluttered with nonsense. Media vultures descend on players year after year for a nonviolent personal choice. No one even attempts to "explain" why smoking weed is affecting the player's performance––let alone an existential threat to an NFL franchise––and yet I'm supposed to nod and go, "What a fool" if someone smokes a little reefer three weeks before the combine. I can't even imagine the kind of drug abuse and hedonism those guys are exposed to every single year. What I'm hearing is that Randy should have taken MDMA or methamphetamine so that it would have flushed out of his system faster and he could have spared himself this public shaming .

The rule is stupid. It hurts the players and the owners. It hurts the sport. It hurts communities––especially if they're black communities. It hurts the country. To hell with it.

Tell that to the GMs that spent millions of dollars on Ricky Williams.

The fact is, this is an indication of possibly two things:

a) He doesn't care about rules and he doesn't think they apply to him.

b) He doesn't have the will power to stop doing something that is against NFL rules long enough to not affect his career.

Those two things can be an indication of personality issues that can lead to much bigger problems in the future. This when the NFL is having an image issue with top players being in the news for the wrong reasons.

Let's not blame the victim. And that's what Randy is right now. The victim. The system is the problem. Randy's behavior is not the problem. Using cannabis is not a sign that you have a moral defect, even if fleeting, artificial regulations set up by bureaucracies private and public prohibit it. He could be using it for medication. Hell, he could be using it for relaxation, and the guy has a lot to be stressed about. Some of the between-the-lines chatter from people who saw him in practice last year indicate something is not right with him. He has a right to take care of himself. I care more about that than the NFL.

yet we sh#t can baseball players for roids? where is there any consistency in any drug or performance enhancing drugs?

I don't think your performance at almost anything except binge eating will be improved by cannabis, although Gregory is on the thin side for his position. I suppose you could factor it in this time.

 

[Husker_x]

My company has several places of employment in the states of Colorado and Washington and a failed drug test will get you fired. We have a ZERO tolerance policy with any drug, legal or not. We even test for prescription drugs and if you test positive, the company will send you home and contact the doctor and find out if you are to be on them if you do not have a written prescription handy. If you are to be on them, they make you stay home until you are to be off them.

Unless you transport nuclear materials or respond to emergencies or like terrorism threats, your company sucks.

 

[AFhusker]

Then you're not a very good GM. As long as it's against NFL rules it's a risk to take someone who keeps doing it. It matters not one bit how stupid the rule is or if it's legal in all 50 states. All that matter is that the rule exists. If I'm a GM I have to think of the possibility that he'll test positive on more tests.

You're right. I'm so terrible I was never even considered for a single position. Not one. Ever.

But it matters to me. My favorite message board gets cluttered with nonsense. Media vultures descend on players year after year for a nonviolent personal choice. No one even attempts to "explain" why smoking weed is affecting the player's performance––let alone an existential threat to an NFL franchise––and yet I'm supposed to nod and go, "What a fool" if someone smokes a little reefer three weeks before the combine. I can't even imagine the kind of drug abuse and hedonism those guys are exposed to every single year. What I'm hearing is that Randy should have taken MDMA or methamphetamine so that it would have flushed out of his system faster and he could have spared himself this public shaming .

The rule is stupid. It hurts the players and the owners. It hurts the sport. It hurts communities––especially if they're black communities. It hurts the country. To hell with it.

Tell that to the GMs that spent millions of dollars on Ricky Williams.

The fact is, this is an indication of possibly two things:

a) He doesn't care about rules and he doesn't think they apply to him.

b) He doesn't have the will power to stop doing something that is against NFL rules long enough to not affect his career.

Those two things can be an indication of personality issues that can lead to much bigger problems in the future. This when the NFL is having an image issue with top players being in the news for the wrong reasons.

Let's not blame the victim. And that's what Randy is right now. The victim. The system is the problem. Randy's behavior is not the problem. Using cannabis is not a sign that you have a moral defect, even if fleeting, artificial regulations set up by bureaucracies private and public prohibit it. He could be using it for medication. Hell, he could be using it for relaxation, and the guy has a lot to be stressed about. Some of the between-the-lines chatter from people who saw him in practice last year indicate something is not right with him. He has a right to take care of himself. I care more about that than the NFL.

yet we sh#t can baseball players for roids? where is there any consistency in any drug or performance enhancing drugs?

I don't think your performance at almost anything except binge eating will be improved by cannabis, although Gregory is on the thin side for his position. I suppose you could factor it in this time.

I have a question....how is Gregory the "victim" for smoking pot? It was his decision and his alone to smoke it, now he will face the consequences. Now if you believe it should be legal that is another subject as I personally don't care if it is legal or not. But as of now it is illegal to smoke pot, and his hope is to be drafted into the NFL who also has a policy of making the smoking of pot illegal. So if he loses millions because he can't find a normal and legal way to relax, that is on him.



If he is the "victim" of anything, it is the previous coaching staff who gave him his sense of entitlement and that he was above the law by refusing to give him a third drug test because they knew he would fail it. If they did give him the test, then they would be forced to kick him off the team. Randy knew that Bo needed him to have any chance at keeping his job at NU. So he did what he wanted and Bo wasn’t strong enough to do what he needed to do.

 

[Husker_x]

Then you're not a very good GM. As long as it's against NFL rules it's a risk to take someone who keeps doing it. It matters not one bit how stupid the rule is or if it's legal in all 50 states. All that matter is that the rule exists. If I'm a GM I have to think of the possibility that he'll test positive on more tests.

You're right. I'm so terrible I was never even considered for a single position. Not one. Ever.

But it matters to me. My favorite message board gets cluttered with nonsense. Media vultures descend on players year after year for a nonviolent personal choice. No one even attempts to "explain" why smoking weed is affecting the player's performance––let alone an existential threat to an NFL franchise––and yet I'm supposed to nod and go, "What a fool" if someone smokes a little reefer three weeks before the combine. I can't even imagine the kind of drug abuse and hedonism those guys are exposed to every single year. What I'm hearing is that Randy should have taken MDMA or methamphetamine so that it would have flushed out of his system faster and he could have spared himself this public shaming .

The rule is stupid. It hurts the players and the owners. It hurts the sport. It hurts communities––especially if they're black communities. It hurts the country. To hell with it.

Tell that to the GMs that spent millions of dollars on Ricky Williams.

The fact is, this is an indication of possibly two things:

a) He doesn't care about rules and he doesn't think they apply to him.

b) He doesn't have the will power to stop doing something that is against NFL rules long enough to not affect his career.

Those two things can be an indication of personality issues that can lead to much bigger problems in the future. This when the NFL is having an image issue with top players being in the news for the wrong reasons.

Let's not blame the victim. And that's what Randy is right now. The victim. The system is the problem. Randy's behavior is not the problem. Using cannabis is not a sign that you have a moral defect, even if fleeting, artificial regulations set up by bureaucracies private and public prohibit it. He could be using it for medication. Hell, he could be using it for relaxation, and the guy has a lot to be stressed about. Some of the between-the-lines chatter from people who saw him in practice last year indicate something is not right with him. He has a right to take care of himself. I care more about that than the NFL.

yet we sh#t can baseball players for roids? where is there any consistency in any drug or performance enhancing drugs?

I don't think your performance at almost anything except binge eating will be improved by cannabis, although Gregory is on the thin side for his position. I suppose you could factor it in this time.

I have a question....how is Gregory the "victim" for smoking pot? It was his decision and his alone to smoke it, now he will face the consequences. Now if you believe it should be legal that is another subject as I personally don't care if it is legal or not. But as of now it is illegal to smoke pot, and his hope is to be drafted into the NFL who also has a policy of making the smoking of pot illegal. So if he loses millions because he can't find a normal and legal way to relax, that is on him.



If he is the "victim" of anything, it is the previous coaching staff who gave him his sense of entitlement and that he was above the law by refusing to give him a third drug test because they knew he would fail it. If they did give him the test, then they would be forced to kick him off the team. Randy knew that Bo needed him to have any chance at keeping his job at NU. So he did what he wanted and Bo wasn’t strong enough to do what he needed to do.

A literally harmless choice is being used to attack his character, his livelihood, and, if he'd been unfortunate to have been caught, his freedom. He's a human being.

 

[knapplc]

A literally harmless choice is being used to attack his character, his livelihood, and, if he'd been unfortunate to have been caught, his freedom. He's a human being.

It doesn't matter how dumb the rule is, or how much you or I or Randy Gregory disagree with it. The rule exists, he knew damned well it existed, and he violated it. Dumb rules are still rules, and they still have to be followed.

There is literally no argument to be made here that Gregory is the victim. His was the choice, his the action, with knowledge aforethought what the consequence of discovery would be. Nothing was hidden from him, this isn't a surprise, it's common knowledge.

• The laws prohibiting marijuana use are stupid and should be repealed.
• The laws adversely impact a specific section of society.
• The laws are harmful.
• The laws are in place for dubious reasons.
• The laws are ineffective.
• The laws are losing favor amongst the populace.

All of these are true. None of them are relevant in this conversation.

 

[Hunter94]

Then you're not a very good GM. As long as it's against NFL rules it's a risk to take someone who keeps doing it. It matters not one bit how stupid the rule is or if it's legal in all 50 states. All that matter is that the rule exists. If I'm a GM I have to think of the possibility that he'll test positive on more tests.

You're right. I'm so terrible I was never even considered for a single position. Not one. Ever.

But it matters to me. My favorite message board gets cluttered with nonsense. Media vultures descend on players year after year for a nonviolent personal choice. No one even attempts to "explain" why smoking weed is affecting the player's performance––let alone an existential threat to an NFL franchise––and yet I'm supposed to nod and go, "What a fool" if someone smokes a little reefer three weeks before the combine. I can't even imagine the kind of drug abuse and hedonism those guys are exposed to every single year. What I'm hearing is that Randy should have taken MDMA or methamphetamine so that it would have flushed out of his system faster and he could have spared himself this public shaming .

The rule is stupid. It hurts the players and the owners. It hurts the sport. It hurts communities––especially if they're black communities. It hurts the country. To hell with it.

Tell that to the GMs that spent millions of dollars on Ricky Williams.

The fact is, this is an indication of possibly two things:

a) He doesn't care about rules and he doesn't think they apply to him.

b) He doesn't have the will power to stop doing something that is against NFL rules long enough to not affect his career.

Those two things can be an indication of personality issues that can lead to much bigger problems in the future. This when the NFL is having an image issue with top players being in the news for the wrong reasons.

Let's not blame the victim. And that's what Randy is right now. The victim. The system is the problem. Randy's behavior is not the problem. Using cannabis is not a sign that you have a moral defect, even if fleeting, artificial regulations set up by bureaucracies private and public prohibit it. He could be using it for medication. Hell, he could be using it for relaxation, and the guy has a lot to be stressed about. Some of the between-the-lines chatter from people who saw him in practice last year indicate something is not right with him. He has a right to take care of himself. I care more about that than the NFL.

yet we sh#t can baseball players for roids? where is there any consistency in any drug or performance enhancing drugs?

I don't think your performance at almost anything except binge eating will be improved by cannabis, although Gregory is on the thin side for his position. I suppose you could factor it in this time.

I have a question....how is Gregory the "victim" for smoking pot? It was his decision and his alone to smoke it, now he will face the consequences. Now if you believe it should be legal that is another subject as I personally don't care if it is legal or not. But as of now it is illegal to smoke pot, and his hope is to be drafted into the NFL who also has a policy of making the smoking of pot illegal. So if he loses millions because he can't find a normal and legal way to relax, that is on him.



If he is the "victim" of anything, it is the previous coaching staff who gave him his sense of entitlement and that he was above the law by refusing to give him a third drug test because they knew he would fail it. If they did give him the test, then they would be forced to kick him off the team. Randy knew that Bo needed him to have any chance at keeping his job at NU. So he did what he wanted and Bo wasn’t strong enough to do what he needed to do.

A literally harmless choice is being used to attack his character, his livelihood, and, if he'd been unfortunate to have been caught, his freedom. He's a human being.

that makes sense to me, if we are going to allow athletes to use drugs, let's pass out a lid with each season ticket! fans need to be jacked too!

 

[JJ Husker]

Some of these posts? Wow.

The choice to use mj is not made in a vacuum. It can affect other people, negatively. MJ use can cause you to have an altered sense of perception. I know, I have smoked and I have inhaled. I won't argue, that in many cases and situations it is likely much safer than alcohol. And as far as professional football goes, being a banned substance is pretty much a joke. But to act like there are only a few jobs where being high could have serious, dangerous, consequences is laughable. What about the crane operator, the guy who hooked up the rigging, the heavy equipment operator, the truck driver? If you think these types of people being under the influence is a good idea, you're not being practical.

And as far as Gregory........well whether the rule is good or bad, it is still the rule and therefore it is an extremely poor decision on his part. Doesn't matter if it's a stupid rule or not, his choice cost him millions. It's his life though so whatever. If those few tokes were worth losing millions in income, I gotta wonder what is most important to him and it does cause me to question his self control and decision making ability. Too bad.

 

[LSLHusker]

Whether this costs him millions won't be known until draft day. If Jameis Winston goes #1, then we will all know how much the NFL values character and self control.

 

[zoogs]

I don't especially care about anyone smoking weed and won't think less of them for it. However, this is something that /can/ get you kicked off the team in college, and he tested positive twice, so he was on thin ice there. Apparently he took it up again right after his college career ended, even though it is also something that can get you in trouble in the NFL.

So that is what raises the red flags here, not the weed itself, or the fact that he's tried the stuff along with millions of others.

And that's why he could plummet in the draft:

But Gregory also will enter the NFL already on rather thin ice. Because of the failed test, he'll start his career in Stage 1 of the league's substance-abuse program. Another violation would push him to Stage 2, which carries with it the penalty of a fine and a four-game suspension. The punishments for repeated violations from there include a six-game suspension and, upon moving to Stage 3, as Gordon has, a one-year ban

Some GMs are going to feel (probably not unfairly) that he's a legitimate risk for a four-game suspension in one of his first two seasons. With a lot of other college players out there they could take instead, that will push him down the draft boards.

 

[JJ Husker]

Whether this costs him millions won't be known until draft day. If Jameis Winston goes #1, then we will all know how much the NFL values character and self control.

I think we already know the NFL doesn't value character. Way too many examples that show that to be true. I still think it was a poor choice on his part to flirt with that line though, even if it doesn't cost him a hell of a lot, relatively speaking. The league is rife with wife beaters, child abusers, hell even murderers. In the grand scheme, smokin the ganj could be looked at as a virtue in the NFL.

 

[Spooky Tooth]

Then you're not a very good GM. As long as it's against NFL rules it's a risk to take someone who keeps doing it. It matters not one bit how stupid the rule is or if it's legal in all 50 states. All that matter is that the rule exists. If I'm a GM I have to think of the possibility that he'll test positive on more tests.

You're right. I'm so terrible I was never even considered for a single position. Not one. Ever.

But it matters to me. My favorite message board gets cluttered with nonsense. Media vultures descend on players year after year for a nonviolent personal choice. No one even attempts to "explain" why smoking weed is affecting the player's performance––let alone an existential threat to an NFL franchise––and yet I'm supposed to nod and go, "What a fool" if someone smokes a little reefer three weeks before the combine. I can't even imagine the kind of drug abuse and hedonism those guys are exposed to every single year. What I'm hearing is that Randy should have taken MDMA or methamphetamine so that it would have flushed out of his system faster and he could have spared himself this public shaming .

The rule is stupid. It hurts the players and the owners. It hurts the sport. It hurts communities––especially if they're black communities. It hurts the country. To hell with it.

Tell that to the GMs that spent millions of dollars on Ricky Williams.

The fact is, this is an indication of possibly two things:

a) He doesn't care about rules and he doesn't think they apply to him.

b) He doesn't have the will power to stop doing something that is against NFL rules long enough to not affect his career.

Those two things can be an indication of personality issues that can lead to much bigger problems in the future. This when the NFL is having an image issue with top players being in the news for the wrong reasons.

Let's not blame the victim. And that's what Randy is right now. The victim. The system is the problem. Randy's behavior is not the problem. Using cannabis is not a sign that you have a moral defect, even if fleeting, artificial regulations set up by bureaucracies private and public prohibit it. He could be using it for medication. Hell, he could be using it for relaxation, and the guy has a lot to be stressed about. Some of the between-the-lines chatter from people who saw him in practice last year indicate something is not right with him. He has a right to take care of himself. I care more about that than the NFL.

yet we sh#t can baseball players for roids? where is there any consistency in any drug or performance enhancing drugs?

I don't think your performance at almost anything except binge eating will be improved by cannabis, although Gregory is on the thin side for his position. I suppose you could factor it in this time.

This statement is so wrong on so many levels it boggles the mind. You can agree to a rule or condition, or disagree with a rule or condition. What you can't do is effectively state "I reject your reality and substitute my own" when it is you who needs something from the system.

 

[Husker_x]

A literally harmless choice is being used to attack his character, his livelihood, and, if he'd been unfortunate to have been caught, his freedom. He's a human being.

It doesn't matter how dumb the rule is, or how much you or I or Randy Gregory disagree with it. The rule exists, he knew damned well it existed, and he violated it. Dumb rules are still rules, and they still have to be followed.

There is literally no argument to be made here that Gregory is the victim. His was the choice, his the action, with knowledge aforethought what the consequence of discovery would be. Nothing was hidden from him, this isn't a surprise, it's common knowledge.

• The laws prohibiting marijuana use are stupid and should be repealed.
• The laws adversely impact a specific section of society.
• The laws are harmful.
• The laws are in place for dubious reasons.
• The laws are ineffective.
• The laws are losing favor amongst the populace.

All of these are true. None of them are relevant in this conversation.

I love this response. And I mean that. I'm not being sarcastic at all. I laughed out loud while reading those last couple of sentences. At first I couldn't figure even out why. Then I sort of combined them into one and it hit me.

"The truth . . . is not relevant in this conversation."

It's like a great line from The Thick of It. It's the most insightful thing I've read in five pages. That, really, is the truth, isn't it? I'm not saying he was duped or cheated or uninformed. That's not why he's the victim. Randy, you, me, and the rest of the stoners reading this are all in the same boat. We're all the victims of this institutional absurdity. I can say what he did wasn't smart, but I can't say he's an idiot. I can say what he did was against the rules, but I can't think of a single good reason to say it was wrong. Like really wrong. That to me is the only true thing worth hearing about a story that's otherwise completely trivial.

The other thing that's not relevant to this conversation, since we're talking about it, is this conversation. Gregory is 'bout to get paid. One way or the other, third to fifth or first round to fourth round––he will be just fine. I hope he had a chill night.

 

[The Dude]

He's still going in the first round, still probably in the top ten.

It's not like he punched a cop the week of the draft, or anything like that.