Cannabis and Athletics – The Tyrann Mathieu Debacle

I’d like to take a moment and talk about marijuana and athletics. I was reading the news today and came across this article about Tyrann Mathieu, a former LSU football star. Mathieu has been in hot water since it was discovered that he enjoyed cannabis.

Now, as he prepares to make a foray into the NFL, there is considerable doubt about whether or not a team will take him on. What’s the issue? Is it his attitude? Is it his off-the-field violent outbursts or a gun felony? Maybe it’s his subpar performance? No. The only thing muddying the waters for young Mathieu is his affinity for marijuana. To clarify, it’s his former affinity for cannabis that has him in jeopardy.

As an aside, I would like to mention that while at LSU (and presumably while he was getting stoned) Mathieu won the Heisman Trophy. You know, that most prestigious of college football awards? Yeah, that one. These days, Mathieu is being forced to defend and explain his actions repeatedly so that a potential NFL team will give him a chance. To hear Mathieu today, he says that he realizes that marijuana was not a good choice.

I suspect that Mathieu’s propensity for greenery has not, as he claims, gone away. I think he’s trying to jump through the right hoops to get his NFL contract and I say that with no judgment whatsoever. Most of the country still adheres to a prohibitionist mentality and cannabis connoisseurs are left with little choice but to scuttle their love of weed in order to fit in with our backwards, near-sighted anti-pot culture.

I just feel bad for Mathieu. By all accounts he’s a decent kid with a bright football career ahead of him. In a world of professional athletes who employ all kinds of clandestine tactics and substances to enhance their performance, the spotlight falls sharpest on cannabis—a drug that in no measurable way enhances ability (unless you’re counting Mario Kart, in which case stoners have a distinct advantage). Raging alcoholics and perpetrators of gun violence slip into the professional athletic ranks without even a blink; but I guess the stellar player who got stoned and ate a box of powdered doughnuts deserves this level of scrutiny.

Sometimes I can’t believe it’s 2013.

The article states, “…teams can’t afford to waste a draft pick on a guy who can’t or won’t choose football over marijuana. Mathieu has a track record of doing the opposite.” I would argue that Mathieu more likely doesn’t see the necessity of choosing football over weed. Obviously he loves football and he’s great at it and he loves/loved marijuana. Why are the two mutually exclusive? Look, as a coach I wouldn’t want my players getting baked just before or during a game. But tell me when you’ve heard of a player being asked if he could choose his/her sport over beer or firearms? The fact that this is even an issue is what’s aggravating.

I’ve played a lot of sports and I have smoked a lot of marijuana, but I have never found that being stoned made me a better athlete (with the possible exception of Frisbee and Bocce ball, thought I’m not sure they qualify as sports).  Let me know what you guys think.

Good luck to Tyrann Mathieu, I hope he gets a multi-million dollar contract and buys himself a diamond bong with it.