Cowboys Exec VP, COO & Dir of Player Personnel Stephen Jones said the NFL's policy on marijuana use "needs to be heavily scrutinized in terms of its results." Appearing on NBCSN, Jones wondered if the policy was "helping players in terms of their accountability?" Jones: "We just need to take a look at it. It's been the same program that's been in place for many, many years and I think all things to do with the NFL, we should always want the very best for our players." Jones: "We should ... take a long, hard look at how we're doing this and see if there's a better way to do it. What that is, I don't have the answer, but we have a lot of smart people." Jones said with some states legalizing marijuana and its use becoming more accepted in society, those changing views "should be part of what's looked at" by the league. Jones: "You should take a look at every aspect of it, from the testing to the discipline, anything to do with this." Jones: "You have to look at how do we do it in society right now. How does that affect the way a player sees his situation in that lens and then make decisions based on that" ("PFT," NBCSN, 5/4).
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: Jones' comments yesterday were the "first public comments the Cowboys have made calling for a change in the NFL's current stance on marijuana." The comments "come less than a week" after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he is "unwilling to take marijuana off the list of banned substances for recreational use, while saying he was more open to the idea of medical use of marijuana" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/4). USA TODAY's Kevin Spain notes any change in policy would "have to be collectively bargained." NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith in March said that marijuana "should be classified as a player's health and safety issue" (USA TODAY, 5/4). TheFootballGirl.com's Melissa Jacobs tweeted about the NFL moving slowly on the issue, "Under current regime pot will be a banned NFL substance 20 years after its been nationally legalized" (TWITTER.com, 5/3).
ISSUE WITH PORTRAYAL: Former NFLer Eben Britton said Goodell's recent comments on ESPN's "Mike & Mike" are "dumb" and "a big mistake." Britton: "The fact that he portrays it in this light, as if [it] has to be smoked, it feeds into the stigma of it rather than understanding that this can be used as a tincture, a capsule. It can be provided in many different forms." In Denver, Nicki Jhabvala notes the NFLPA has "vowed for months to propose a more lenient approach to the way the league handles marijuana use among players, but its suggested changes to the substance-abuse policy have yet to be presented to the league and the specifics remain unknown" (DENVER POST, 5/4).
A LOT TO CONSIDER: In San Diego, Tom Krasovic writes the NFL "sits at the bargaining table opposite not only its players but corporate partners who, either directly or as supporters of NFL TV right-holders, may include Big Pharma and sellers of beer, wine and liquor." If there are medical reasons to "slow-play a move toward medical marijuana, there may also be economic reasons for it." A pro-cannabis position "could put the League at odds with the Trump administration, which has talked about cracking down on marijuana distribution in states where weed is legal." The NFL "gets a lot of money from sellers of alcoholic beverages." Krasovic: "Would a nod to weed, even for medical purposes, harm that relationship?" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/4).
