Gregory tests positive for pot at combine

[Husker_x]

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.

I don't think I'm saying that. If anything, it's the opposite. There's a moral reality that the institution(s) subvert to impose a false one on the entire conversation, and the tone of the rhetoric makes me feel, or seems to implicitly present––and correct me if I'm wrong here––a narrative wherein it is only appropriate to look on Randy Gregory like a loathsome fool squandering his life and potential, and that this slime of a worthless monster deserves whatever happens to him. For some reason I'm unable to make myself see it that way and not experience cognitive dissonance.

Also, the system needs something from Randy. Or I assume it does or it wouldn't pay so many scouts so handsomly to fly to the metropolis of Lincoln, Nebraska and watch him run around and hit things. They need a several things, actually. Start with his body. The NFL will ask Randy to strap a few flimsy pieces of plastic on and subject himself to a pounding from some of the biggest, most powerful athletes on the planet several months a year for however many years he can take it until his body either gives out, or if he's lucky, he retires with it mostly intact. There's a good chance of chronic pain and other complications either way. Probably at that time he will use cannabis and other, more powerful drugs to numb the pain for . . . well . . . however long it lasts. And it could be forever.

In the scheme of things it may look a little inconsequential how his failed drug test was perceived by media and fans. You know, all things considered.

 

[NebraskaShellback]

Failed twice here at Nebraska.

Now we know why he left for the NFL, one more failed drug test, he is out.

 

[Husker_x]

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.

But what if the crane operator or the equipment operator or the truck driver smokes weed on Saturday afternoon, gets sober, operates the crane or the equipment or the truck on Monday morning, and then the following week on Tuesday, he's piss tested and subjected to discipline up to and including termination upon failing the test? Does that change anything?

We're not talking about Randy toking up in the locker room before the big game, are we? Or did I miss something crucial here?

 

[NebraskaShellback]

Greg,

Stop smoking the ditch weed!

 

[Mavric]

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.

They are valued more at some positions and skill sets than other. Not exactly surprising.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I honestly can not believe I just read posts trying to make poor Randy out to be a victim. Absolutely baffling.

 

[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.

But what if the crane operator or the equipment operator or the truck driver smokes weed on Saturday afternoon, gets sober, operates the crane or the equipment or the truck on Monday morning, and then the following week on Tuesday, he's piss tested and subjected to discipline up to and including termination upon failing the test? Does that change anything?

We're not talking about Randy toking up in the locker room before the big game, are we? Or did I miss something crucial here?

You made a pretty blanket statement about all but one or two jobs not requiring drug testing. Now you're backing it off to a reasonable level. That would be the crucial thing you missed. I think we both agree that, in the scheme of the NFL, Marijuana use would not really matter. But there are many jobs where society is better served by erring on the side of safety. Until testing methods improve and we can differentiate if that crane operator toked it up right before his shift or 5 days ago, then it has to be treated like he is high on the job.

 

[Husker_x]

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.

But what if the crane operator or the equipment operator or the truck driver smokes weed on Saturday afternoon, gets sober, operates the crane or the equipment or the truck on Monday morning, and then the following week on Tuesday, he's piss tested and subjected to discipline up to and including termination upon failing the test? Does that change anything?

We're not talking about Randy toking up in the locker room before the big game, are we? Or did I miss something crucial here?

You made a pretty blanket statement about all but one or two jobs not requiring drug testing. Now you're backing it off to a reasonable level. That would be the crucial thing you missed. I think we both agree that, in the scheme of the NFL, Marijuana use would not really matter. But there are many jobs where society is better served by erring on the side of safety. Until testing methods improve and we can differentiate if that crane operator toked it up right before his shift or 5 days ago, then it has to be treated like he is high on the job.

The original post that spawned this part of the conversation said in no uncertain terms that smoking weed at any time for any reason anywhere was not tolerated. I'm not backing off. I'm trying to understand the relevance of your own examples to Gregory. Nobody has suggested Gregory was blowing bong smoke in the ref's face before getting back into his stance, so I don't see the connection.

I'm also confused about the last part of your post. You seem to be saying that until we can develop methods to prove a crane operator is innocent, we must assume he is guilty. This seems problematic.

 

[JJ Husker]

Husker_x- It's not as convoluted as you're trying to make it. As far as Gregory and the NFL, I think we can agree it doesn't matter. But as for the heavy equipment operator, all you have to do is honestly answer one simple question; If that operator could possible have any interaction with you or somebody you love, do you want to do everything possible to make sure they are sober and clear headed, or do you want there to be some question about that? It doesn't have anything to do with it being legal or not and we could just as easily be talking about alcohol as mj. There are many jobs where assured soberness trumps these other ancillary concerns.

 

[The Dude]

I honestly can not believe I just read posts trying to make poor Randy out to be a victim. Absolutely baffling.

If we contemplate the truest sense of right and wrong, it's not baffling at all. He's absolutely the victim of a broken system.
As is the single mother who was sent to prison for a decade for selling a dime bag.

As is the epileptic child who can't get the medicine he needs.

These are the types of people who RG should be lumped in with. Not an alleged rapist.

 

[Elf]

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.

Quote one person who thinks its ok to be high on any drug while at work.

No one is saying that is OK.

 

[Elf]

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.

But what if the crane operator or the equipment operator or the truck driver smokes weed on Saturday afternoon, gets sober, operates the crane or the equipment or the truck on Monday morning, and then the following week on Tuesday, he's piss tested and subjected to discipline up to and including termination upon failing the test? Does that change anything?

We're not talking about Randy toking up in the locker room before the big game, are we? Or did I miss something crucial here?

You made a pretty blanket statement about all but one or two jobs not requiring drug testing. Now you're backing it off to a reasonable level. That would be the crucial thing you missed. I think we both agree that, in the scheme of the NFL, Marijuana use would not really matter. But there are many jobs where society is better served by erring on the side of safety. Until testing methods improve and we can differentiate if that crane operator toked it up right before his shift or 5 days ago, then it has to be treated like he is high on the job.

We already can tell how long ago someone smoked pot. All drug tests have a window of detection, saliva tests have the shortest, some as short as a few hours.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I honestly can not believe I just read posts trying to make poor Randy out to be a victim. Absolutely baffling.

If we contemplate the truest sense of right and wrong, it's not baffling at all. He's absolutely the victim of a broken system.
As is the single mother who was sent to prison for a decade for selling a dime bag.

As is the epileptic child who can't get the medicine he needs.

These are the types of people who RG should be lumped in with. Not an alleged rapist.

Good friggen Lord.

He isn't in jail. He isn't denied a job. He isn't raped. He isn't anything other than tested positive for a drug that a potential future employer says that if you do, you potentially will be punished if you work for them.

This victimization of anything here is just plain preposterous. And, you never have seen me on any of these boards go down this path....but....this victimization of Gregory is a part of a problem that I hear teachers in our school systems talk about all the time. When little Johnny gets caught doing something against school rules, the parents don't sit little Johnny down and punish and explain that he has to abide by the rules. They turn to the principal to call the teacher in to chew them out for why they are disciplining little Johnny. When in fact, little Johnny is a little sh#t head that knows how to work the system.

Life has rules. You might not agree with all the rules. But, when there is a rule that an employer has to work for them and you know those rules very clearly and you break those rules....that's on YOU not the employer.

 

[Whistlebritches]

I think it's dumb when my boss complains that I show up at 815 instead of 800 despite the fact that I get straight to work rather than standing around drinking coffee for 45 minutes before doing anything. I actually start working 30 minutes earlier than most of the people that arrived before me. But I try my hardest to show up at 8. Why? Because it's the rules of my employer.

 

[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.

Quote one person who thinks its ok to be high on any drug while at work.No one is saying that is OK.

See post #203. Nobody said it is "ok" but it is implied if you think testing for it is ridiculous. There are all kinds of jobs where it makes perfect sense to drug test and try to assure sober employees. The amazing thing is that 3 idiots +1'd that shortsighted post.