Fmr Browns coach Rutigliano: "relaxing NFL rules on marijuana would be a 'catastrophe"

[Ram Quixote]

Mr. Rutigliano forgets that the pot users in the NFL aren't about pot, per se. They're about football. There are some who can't or won't lay off, but that's mostly in the offseason. Think about it. Those employees that gnome is talking about are, by definition, underachievers.

NFL players, with a few exceptions, know better. They wouldn't show up to practice high; they wouldn't endanger their career. But in the offseason ... why should it matter if they get high once or twice, or even more than that?

People don't think twice about getting drunk; don't think twice about a social life that includes drinking in a public place. But smoking pot?

I once knew a guy who was a functioning alcoholic. Showed up for work every day, did his job well. But we all knew it wasn't healthy. I worked at that place for 6 years, knew him for all of them, and when I left he was still going strong.

 

[fearsomefour]

It can lead to stronger things....like what? The pain pills teams hand out to players like they are breath mints?

 

[iced]

The only thing Weed is a gateway to is the fridge

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Yes. I have no problem with someone using it for pain, comfort, or recreationaly, yes, I made that word up, but I didn't even want to use it while I was still playing sports. It doesn't help you perform better, that is for sure, and if I was getting paid big bucks, and know that I could get tested, I think it's irresponsible to use, because of the possible detriment to your team.

Exactly, neither alcohol or weed enhances your performance...They detract from it. So maybe the penalties should be levied by the teams. If one team wants to have more restrictions than another, then fine.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Gnome I've had the same experiences with alcohol and although you may think you can detect it you can't with the reliability you think, when they are hammered sure but buzzed is a lot less apparent and I've had guys who hid bottles at work and would consume about an oz of alcohol an hour and I didn't catch on, same with drivers , once they left the plant there was no way unless you caught up to them and tested them.
One of the things you do when hiring people is tell them ,if you get hurt the first thing you'll get is a drug test same if you hurt someone else, if you are drunk or stoned the insurance company will deny you coverage or you will be charged with reckless endangerment of your fellow employees.
The NFL will likely secure the right to test on suspicion , but the current rules that try to govern a players time off with thresholds that detect and punish even when the player isn't under the influence are so antithetical to the spirit of our legal system basic premise of presumption of innocence it's a travesty.
We've gone too far down the road of trying to protect people from themselves in this country and created a government in the process we need protection from , but there is nothing to protect us from it,their investigative methods have gone full on into entrapment which when I was a child was such a taboo police officer prosecutors even judges lost their jobs over it,now it's SOP.
We learned the lesson of prohibition way faster about alcohol ,which is one of the reasons I believe this current living populous is less intelligent than those ,but we sure as hell think were smarter and keep legislating all these laws protecting people from their own bad decisions.
Nah man if player X goes home after a Sunday game and smokes his brains out to unwind and sooth the pain and he doesn't take harder more damaging drugs to come down (BTW I consider alcohol a harder more damaging drug) or to soothe his pain (massive NSAIDS) it's a good thing, if he comes to work high ,really high, I'd be able to tell as fast as if he was drunk and IMO teams SHOULD be able to ascertain a player isn't high on anything when he's playing,so set the rules to where they govern what the league has the right to govern and go on.

I'll stop with that 2cents worth,,but I've got $1,000 worth to say on this subject as in the war on drugs should be converted into a war on politicians who profit from it and it would be over in less than two years.

Is the idea to protect the people from themselves or to protect the country from evolving into a lackadaisical, less productive one?

I have experienced the nonexistant work ethic of todays younger generation. It is appalling to witness the level of entitlement that I have seen. I point this out because I wonder what the next generation, who believes smoking pot is acceptable because it is legal will work like. Smoking pot does not enhance performance, it detracts from it. It is way to easy to hide and use at work, like I pointed out.

I just don't see the benefits of it. I don't think I ever will. And I am not speaking from innocence here. I don't like the government trying to control everything anymore than the next guy, but I don't see where it would be advantageous for our future generations to be openly free Pot smokers.

 

[tonyl711]

I wonder what coaches think of it. Maybe they should be lighting up too. "Practice? Screw practice, let's go eat!".

I guess in the End if it affects a players performance he will get benched, or cut. I just hope it is a replaceable player.

It is sad that while Pot is still against the rules, not to mention illegal, that a twenty something young man with potential to earn millions and have a promising career, thinks smoking pot is so important to him that he will risk his career. It also speaks of their character that smoking is more important than their obligation to the team, coaches, franchise.

im sorry but you are acting like anyone who smokes weed has to have it 24/7, and automatically smokes it at work and will eventually cause problems, and that just is not true. I have been smoking for 30 something years and I know a lot of people who do and not one of us smoke at work that I know of, and yes there are people who drink at work. does it also speak to their character when they go to bars and get in fights and drive home drunk? don't those same rules apply to alcohol, or is it just weed?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

im sorry but you are acting like anyone who smokes weed has to have it 24/7, and automatically smokes it at work and will eventually cause problems, and that just is not true. I have been smoking for 30 something years and I know a lot of people who do and not one of us smoke at work that I know of, and yes there are people who drink at work. does it also speak to their character when they go to bars and get in fights and drive home drunk? don't those same rules apply to alcohol, or is it just weed?

1. I am a bit jaded, yes. I worked with 18-26 year olds that were often high school drop outs or raised amongst a drug culture or were raised by their mothers only. Over 8 years, everyone that smoked pot on that crew either tried or got away with smoking before, during, or just after work. Getting to know these kids and the experiences that they have shared, I have come to believe that a large portion of pot smokers smoke on their way to work or on their way home. Many smoke at lunch or on breaks. Maybe it is the younger generation. But that is my point. If it is not illegal, and it is very easy to hide, the acceptance of it as a stress reliever could easily become more and more of a problem in the work industry. It was frustrating to give these kids all the tools they needed to succeed and move onto better employment only to find out that they failed the initial urinalysis. Hearing about a young NFL football player risking it all in a similar manor is eerily reminiscent of my accounts.

I am sure there are responsible smokers just as their are responsible drinkers like myself. But I am aware of far more people failing drug tests and losing their jobs because of smoking pot than I do of drinking problems. ( I have had two on the crew with alcohol addiction too btw, compared to about 30 pot smokers)

2. The same rules apply to alcohol, but weed is easier to hide and easier to get away with. I know grown adults with children that smoke on the way to work and on the way home every day. It is shameful. I always told my crews to keep the party to the weekends and protect your income by keeping your job. It was shocking how many couldn't bring themselves to do it.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Mr. Rutigliano forgets that the pot users in the NFL aren't about pot, per se. They're about football. There are some who can't or won't lay off, but that's mostly in the offseason. Think about it. Those employees that gnome is talking about are, by definition, underachievers.

NFL players, with a few exceptions, know better. They wouldn't show up to practice high; they wouldn't endanger their career. But in the offseason ... why should it matter if they get high once or twice, or even more than that?

People don't think twice about getting drunk; don't think twice about a social life that includes drinking in a public place. But smoking pot?

I once knew a guy who was a functioning alcoholic. Showed up for work every day, did his job well. But we all knew it wasn't healthy. I worked at that place for 6 years, knew him for all of them, and when I left he was still going strong.

I agree. And I don't know the drug policy per se. They should be allowed to imbibe when not required to be at work. But if you know that you have OTAs in a month it would be wise to lay off. Most NFL players are overachievers but some get by on pure god given talent and don't seem to work as hard at their craft as others. Some make you wish they did work harder. I saw Jadaveon Clowney in an interview and if I had to bet money on it, I would have said he was high. That was before the draft. Claude Wroten comes to mind as an extreme. Some of these guys grew up in the culture and they love it...and don't want to leave it. I also know some functioning alcoholics. I don't agree with that either because they endanger anyone on the road with them when they hit the bars at night.

Alcohol is bad enough. Do you we need to add more coals to the fire?

 

[OnceARam]

It's so stupid having weed as a illegal drug, anybody in their right might would see this.Having weed as a class 1 drug alongside coke and heroine is ludacris as well. Our government wants to keep it illegal for obvious reasons.

What are the obvious reasons?

 

[OnceARam]

Here's the reason mary jane IS in fact a gateway drug. We are told as children that by smoking it we will someone turn into a drug addict. Then we spoke it. We enjoy it and don't turn into a drug addict. Then we wonder, "what else have I been lied to about".

Also, I think this societal shift toward weed is a bad idea. You're seeing people not live up to their full potential. And they're going crazy as a result.

 

[tonyl711]

Here's the reason mary jane IS in fact a gateway drug. We are told as children that by smoking it we will someone turn into a drug addict. Then we spoke it. We enjoy it and don't turn into a drug addict. Then we wonder, "what else have I been lied to about".

Also, I think this societal shift toward weed is a bad idea. You're seeing people not live up to their full potential. And they're going crazy as a result.

going crazy? only if the joint was laced with PCP, lol. and how can you say we are seeing people not live up to their full potential? im sure there are many people in very high positions that smoke a little weed, if you are not living up to your potential its probably because you are lazy, not because you get high in your free time.

 

[The Rammer]

What are the obvious reasons?

the government gets to continue it's pitiful " war on drugs" with weed being at least half of thier budget. If it becomes legal what happens to this huge monster we built up to ' punish' people? What happens to all the drug companies that push their piss on the people with with 15 extra side effects but aren't making as much money now because you can grow your medicine? Then they would have to admit they were wrong about the war on drugs, which you should know our beuarcrats wouldn't. Keep those Mexican drug Cartels in power... Import coke and heroine via the CIA! Those are just some of the obvious ones.

 

[The Rammer]

Here's the reason mary jane IS in fact a gateway drug. We are told as children that by smoking it we will someone turn into a drug addict. Then we spoke it. We enjoy it and don't turn into a drug addict. Then we wonder, "what else have I been lied to about".

Also, I think this societal shift toward weed is a bad idea. You're seeing people not live up to their full potential. And they're going crazy as a result.

those people lazy and not going to do something with themselves were going to do that anyways. You can say alcohol or video games or anything else could do this to. Let's make them illegal to....fail

 

[-X-]

 

[Pancake]

Here's the reason mary jane IS in fact a gateway drug. We are told as children that by smoking it we will someone turn into a drug addict. Then we spoke it. We enjoy it and don't turn into a drug addict. Then we wonder, "what else have I been lied to about".

Also, I think this societal shift toward weed is a bad idea. You're seeing people not live up to their full potential. And they're going crazy as a result.

Society is shifting towards listening to facts instead of propaganda and finally letting people have the freedom to choose. People are starting to realize the hypocrisy involved when you can go to any corner market and load up on 150 proof liquor, cigs and all kinds of over the counter drugs that have way worse side effects.

 

[Thordaddy]

Is the idea to protect the people from themselves or to protect the country from evolving into a lackadaisical, less productive one?

I have experienced the nonexistant work ethic of todays younger generation. It is appalling to witness the level of entitlement that I have seen. I point this out because I wonder what the next generation, who believes smoking pot is acceptable because it is legal will work like. Smoking pot does not enhance performance, it detracts from it. It is way to easy to hide and use at work, like I pointed out.

I just don't see the benefits of it. I don't think I ever will. And I am not speaking from innocence here. I don't like the government trying to control everything anymore than the next guy, but I don't see where it would be advantageous for our future generations to be openly free Pot smokers.

The "sense of entitlement" is a side effect of smoking pot ,I'd not heard of,can you direct me to those studies?
As far as whether pot enhances performance I disagree ,it completely depends on the person and what performance you are talking a bout,it certainly helps people in repetitive jobs with boredom.
Both my sons smoke ,one is perennial Deans list member the other struggles to focus on school enough to do well,they were both exactly that way before they started smoking.
The biggest problem I see here is people who make generalities that are unfounded expecting to have profound influence on the professional live of others .
It doesn't matter if you see benefits,in the end it really isn't your business,and it isn't the employers business if you perform to the level they expect,nor is it the governments business. We ae all at our best when we mind our own business and do the best WE can and let the rest of the people be trusted to govern these choices for themselves.

Drugs are not a choice I enjoy seeing people make ,but forcing people to refrain doesn't build character,giving them the choice to abstain is where character is formed,there is no virtue in making the right choice when it isn't a choice and FWIW Gnome we are dictating so many choices to and for people our society is losing the ability to make right ones on their own, that's my societal fear people wh look to government for their choices, that's not a free society and again we are destroying freedom here in this country at an alarming pace trying to eradicate the use of something people want badly enough to risk NFL jobs over,I don't GET the hubris of people who think you can stop this.
It's a way better plan in my estimation to take the money we spend on investigation ,prosecution and incarceration on treatment , get the corruption out of our government over it dis empower the criminals who control it, take back our streets peacefully and get out of the morals business.
Problem is IMO the NFL is going to listen to alarmists like Rutigliano and not go far enough in relaxing their standards to make it better.
Hell I think a guy should have 4 days a year where he tests above the limit and is just is told he can't practice before they do anything that effects his livelihood.

 

[BuffaloRam]

Some of these guys are 25, walking around with the knees of a 60 year old. A bit of herb is not as bad as developing an OxyContin dependency to manage pain.

 

[-X-]

Some of these guys are 25, walking around with the knees of a 60 year old. A bit of herb is not as bad as developing

Did you forget to finish that sentence? lol.

 

[Thordaddy]

Some of these guys are 25, walking around with the knees of a 60 year old. A bit of herb is not as bad as developing an OxyContin dependency to manage pain.

Some of us are walking around with sixty year old knees too.

 

[BuffaloRam]

Did you forget to finish that sentence? lol.

Yeah - I was writing on my phone and got a call mid post...