Retired NFL star Chris Long intended to break down certain stereotypes of marijuana users by recently admitting to using cannabis regularly during his career.
In a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” the two-time Super Bowl champion said that regular marijuana use actually helped him throughout 11 seasons playing football.
“I’m not a dry snitch, I’m not going to put a percentage on how much the league smokes, but I certainly enjoyed my fair share on a regular basis throughout my career,” said Long. “If not for that, I’m not as capable of coping with the stresses of the day-to-day NFL life.”
While the NFL hands out harsh suspensions for marijuana use, Long explained that he would simply stop using pot leading up to the annual drug test administered by the league.
“In that month or two that you stop, you’re going to reach for the sleeping pills, you’re going to reach for the pain-killers and you’re going to reach for the bottle a little bit more,” Long said. “If you’re serious about players not using, you’d be testing more often. I hope they go the opposite direction and just kind of realize how arbitrary that one test is.”
In another interview on ESPN Radio’s “Golic & Wingo” show, Long said that his admission was meant to help remove negative misconceptions surrounding marijuana.
“We’re dealing with a generational stigma, so you’re used to your fans being old-guard people who bought into that stigma. I know some people struggle with it because marijuana, all the stereotypes are ‘Lazy, deviant people only smoke marijuana,’” said Long. “Well, if NFL players who are active in their community, are hard-working, they go absolutely nuts on Sunday and they play the game with violence and energy for three hours, that kind of challenges your stereotype. And it challenges the stereotype of football.”
Oscar Pascual is the editor of Smell the Truth, syndicated on GreenState and SFGATE. Smell The Truth is one of the internet’s most popular destinations for cannabis-related news and culture. This blog is not written or edited by Hearst. The authors are solely responsible for the content.