Smoke On

Puff, puff, pass.

Well, maybe it should be puff, puff, catch.
Or puff, puff, sack.

Yesterday it was announced that three future NFL stars admitted to “experimenting” with marijuana at some point in their lives. Those three honest young men are wide receiver Calvin Johnson, defensive end Gaines Adams, and defensive tackle Amobi Akoye.

When the knowledge was leaked that these three guys sampled the green sticky, the media went bong over blintzes predicting how this new light would affect the three players’ draft potential.

Well, let’s see here. Before it was known that Calvin, Gaines and Amobi puffed the magic dragon, all three were predicted to be top 10 picks in next weeks draft by football guru Mel Kiper. And they still should be.

I could care less if these guys smoke weed. At least they’re not instigating bar brawls or beating their wives. Furthermore, it’s not like smoking has jeopardized these guys’ character. I don’t know them personally, but I’m pretty sure they’re all honorable citizens.

How can you criticize a guy for getting high when he graduated high school at age 15, and received a college degree by the age of 19? All while being his football team’s moral leader. I dare you to go tell Amobi Akoye that he’s a nuisance to society. That he’s a worthless pothead who’ll never amount to anything. I dare you. He’ll probably just stare you down with pity, impugn you with a vocabulary too sophisticated for you to understand, then go smoke a joint to calm himself down.

People should quit worrying about whether players smoke the oskie-woskie. Using Calvin, Gaines and Amobi as examples, smoking herb obviously hasn’t hindered their athletic performability. And nobody can claim it will stunt their growth. These guys are all ginormous. And none of them have off-the-field problems.

So let’s say we forget about whether athletes hit the bong after hitting the gym, and worry more about whether they’re ingesting steroids, or why they’re getting involved in parking lot shootouts. Because I bet the only shootout you’ll see Calvin, Gaines and Amobi get in, will involve a 60” plasma TV and Halo 3.