Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Randy Gregory has certainly had his chances to make it in the NFL.
He’s consistently blown them. We see now why he took such a Brady Quinn-Johnny Manziel-Rashard Mendenhall level downward slide on his NFL Draft night.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on the Randy Gregory failed drug test and suspension:
“Randy Gregory I’m told failed another drug test while he was already on a 10 game suspension. That happened recently, and now he’s facing a year-long banishment, which is the next step in the drug protocol for Randy Gregory.
“This is not final yet, he still has the power to appeal, but it certainly does put his future with the Dallas Cowboys very much in doubt. If this holds, at the earliest he’d play at the end of 2017. I know Cowboys players are frustrated with this. ‘Screw him’ was one of the phrases used to me to describe their thoughts on Randy Gregory.”
“Screw him,” that’s a pretty strong, but ultimately fair sentiment there coming from Gregory’s teammates. The young man from Nebraska has had plenty of people in his ear trying to steer him on the right course and he ignored all of them. Still, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said Monday that he’s not giving up on him.
Of course he’s not. Jones is the same guy who gave woman beater Greg Hardy multiple chances after the rest of the league found him way too toxic to touch.
While Gregory has many issues that he needs to work out, marijuana usage might not be one of them…in the future moving forward. The first two states to legalize recreational marijuana usage, Colorado and Washington, then coincidentally saw their two NFL teams meet in the Super Bowl that same year.
Smoking the good weed is becoming normalized, and the NFL better lead from ahead on this social issue (unlike domestic abuse, where the league was consistently and deplorably behind)
We go back to Rapoport, on the legalization of medical marijuana in certain states and its impact on NFL drug policy:
“The election really did welcome in several states who now view recreational marijuana use as legal. And from what I understand, talking to 10 owners and decision makers around the league, there’s a changing attitude toward recreational marijuana use, and the discipline associated with that. According to the majority of the people I spoke with, they support the decriminalization of marijuana, either making it tougher to be suspended for marijuana use, or in some cases, people I’ve spoken with believe that suspension should be off the table for marijuana use.
“The NFLPA is studying marijuana as it relates to pain management. The NFL says they will follow the science regarding potentially allowing medical marijuana. This will be something that will be a CBA issue, but it certainly seems that the owners and decisions makers are going a certain way, following the country, regarding to marijuana use. Rich, let me give you one quick example from one owner who believes it is a competitive imbalance. If you’re a player in, say, Seattle that gets pulled over, has possession of marijuana, he is not going to be arrested, is not facing a suspension. If the same player has the same incident in, say, Indianapolis, he would be suspended. One owner asked, is that even fair?”
Food for thought; or should I saw Funyans, Doritos and Pokey Sticks for thought on Randy Gregory, the legalized marijuana wave and its impact on the NFL moving forward.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.