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YouTubeWith the results of the NFL Combine’s drug test revealing a positive test for marijuana by Southern California tight end Anthony McCoy, the question has to be asked: Can’t athletes lay off the drugs for one month before the biggest week of their lives?
Year after year, more so recently it seems, incoming rookies run a 4.4 40-yard dash, bench press 225 lbs. 25 times and conduct brilliant interviews with front office personnel for all NFL teams, only to see they tested positive for a banned substance.
Not all situations involve a lack of discipline. There are essentially two different ways to fail a drug test: a banned substance in the form of steroids or other performance enhancers, or an illegal substance such as marijuana.
The first case is understandable—athletes are doing everything they can to make the transition from a collegiate “scholar-athlete” to professional full-time athlete. As was the case for Jonathon Dwyer from Georgia Tech, who tested positive for amphetamines due to a medical prescription, athletes can gain a “therapeutic use exemption” from a positive test. Dwyer provided all 32 NFL teams with the necessary medical documentation prior to the combine, removing any suspicion of any illegitimate activity.
Then there are the cases of McCoy, as well as Percy Harvin and B.J. Raji from the 2009 NFL Draft, who test positive for marijuana. For all intents and purposes, the NFL Scouting Combine is an NFL hopeful’s equivalent of the biggest job interview of his life, except for the fact that this entry-level job pays $50 million.
Is it ignorance or apathy that drives these athletes to not lay off the drugs for one month to let it clear their system for this multi-million dollar week-long interview?
The answer, when all is said and done, has to be apathy. The fact of the matter is that NFL teams don’t care how much pot their athletes smoke, as long as they can perform at a high level on the field. Scouts and the front office aren’t in the character-building business, they are in the business of putting a winning product on the field. As long as no suspension is going to come from the positive test, the teams could not care less about marijuana use, which is a shame.
Granted, there are a few franchises that do make decisions based on character issues. The Steelers, for example, just traded their Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes for a 5th-round pick in the draft. However, the chances of a team in the NFL truly evaluating a player’s value through a drug test are slim-to-none.
This also may be a large factor in the character issues of the entire NFL. Every week it seems there is a new scandal or rule violation by a player in the league. Are teams sending the wrong message to prospective players by ignoring the rules? Players come into the league thinking that they can go ahead and violate the rules, because the league doesn’t truly care about behavior as long as they perform. This then translates into superstars getting into situations they shouldn’t be in and consequences they would rather not have to face.
Overall, athletes are simply not threatened by the thought of a positive drug test. It only has a minimal impact on their draft status, and teams just turn a blind eye toward it as long as they deliver on the field.
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