Report: Fred Davis, Trent Williams suspended four games

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by itvnetop

You guys know what's scary? There are much harder recreational drugs out there that leave your system much faster than weed. I know people in the military that absolutely stay away from weed because of the random pop tests, but will roll (E) their asses off on a Saturday night. You don't think NFL players know that yay leaves their system in a day or two?

But fans only care when the punishments affect their team. Nobody really gives a hoot if one our of players are going Tony Montana one evening... because chances are, we're never going to find out.

What....exactly do you base that statement on?

[itvnetop]

Originally Posted by Hog1

What....exactly do you base that statement on?

I base the statement on the fact that as long as players are producing on the field, fans (including myself) don't really give a hoot what they do on their own time... as long as it's not hurting anyone else. How much "partying" hurts themselves is semantics. It only becomes an issue with fans when players get caught and then reprimanded (thereby affecting the team and its potential weakness caused by punishment).

Out of sight, out of mind for most sports fans. When LT was racking up sacks, how many Giants' fans knew that the only thing he thought about in the huddle was his next crack hit? How many even cared? It didn't really come out until later. Out of sight, out of mind.

Professional athletes live lives that the average person will never come close to comprehending. We sit here and say, "Follow the rules... it's simple. Don't screw up." Throw a bunch of money, beautiful woman and an entourage of sycophants toward a young 20 something and human nature may change anyone.

Then it becomes "What can I get away with" vs. "What do I know will get me in trouble?" My original point stands that harder drugs are much more difficult to catch in a random drug test. The league's policy has a list of banned substances, including recreational drugs. The least harmful (marijuana) is easy to catch. You're basically saying, "If you're going to party, do it smart... do blow or ecstasy because you won't get caught." And that's a much more harmful proposition, imo.

This is going out on a limb here (wayyyy out)- But as an analogy: We tell kids the only way to protect themselves from an STD or an unwanted pregnancy is abstinence. Do kids really listen to that? Nope- we should be teaching them safer sex habits... Abstinence flies in the face of teen curiosity.

Many professional athletes are going to party... it's a given. Do we want some of them moving away from weed to Class 1 drugs b/c the latter won't get you popped? Baron Davis said that the NBA would cease to exist if the league tested for marijuana. I don't remember the specific percentage, but it was close to half I think.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by itvnetop

I base the statement on the fact that as long as players are producing on the field, fans (including myself) don't really give a hoot what they do on their own time... as long as it's not hurting anyone else. How much "partying" hurts themselves is semantics. It only becomes an issue with fans when players get caught and then reprimanded (thereby affecting the team and its potential weakness caused by punishment).

Out of sight, out of mind for most sports fans. When LT was racking up sacks, how many Giants' fans knew that the only thing he thought about in the huddle was his next crack hit? How many even cared because it was really never public until later?

Professional athletes live lives that the average person can't come close to comprehending. We sit here and say, "Follow the rules... it's simple. Don't screw up." Throw a bunch of money, beautiful woman and an entourage of sycophants towards a young 20 something and human nature may change anyone.

Then it becomes "What can I get away with" vs. "What do I know will get me in trouble?" My original point stands that harder drugs are much more difficult to catch in a random drug test. The league's policy has a list of banned substances, including recreational drugs. The least harmful (marijuana) is easy to catch. Your basically saying, "If you're going to party, do it smart... do blow or ecstasy because you won't get caught." And that's a much more harmful proposition, imo.

This is going out on a limb here (wayyyy out)- But as an analogy: We tell kids the only way to protect themselves from an STD or an unwanted pregnancy is abstinence. Do kids really listen to that? Nope- we should be teaching them safer sex habits... Abstinence flies in the face of teen curiosity.

Many professional athletes are going to party... it's a given. Do we want some of them moving away from weed to Class 1 drugs b/c the latter won't get you popped? Baron Davis is said that the NBA would cease to exist if the league tested for marijuana. I don't remember the specific percentage, but it was over half I think.

This 1000 times. Good post.

[ethat001]

Originally Posted by itvnetop

Professional athletes live lives that the average person will never come close to comprehending. We sit here and say, "Follow the rules... it's simple. Don't screw up." Throw a bunch of money, beautiful woman and an entourage of sycophants toward a young 20 something and human nature may change anyone.

Originally Posted by 12thMan

I think this all goes with a culture of losing, quite frankly. When you're losing you simply care less. When you're winning your attitude is different and you're more focused. I suppose they go hand in hand.

Great, insightful posts. Glad to part of an informed discussion.

Here are my thoughts:

1) ATHLETES WILL PARTY. Most of us here went to parties in college / early 20's. Now infuse $1 million dollars, 6 months vacation per year, and unlimited ladies. Almost ALL of us would be partying - perhaps not exactly like these guys. Why does everyone always find it suprising they party hard... I say as long as it doesn't interfere on the field, it's fine.

2) MARIJUANA IS NOT DANGEROUS. Why do does the NFL even test for it? It's certainly not performance enhancing. It's being approved all over the nation, and they're debating approval in Maryland this week. Obama's admitted to all sorts of substance abuse in the past.

3) DAVIS / TW WERE BONEHEADS. Still, despite #1 and #2 above, they were idiots. Not so much the fact they did MJ. The thing was they did it REPEATEDLY, knowing they were already caught before, and knowing the consequences. Remember, even Santana Moss was linked to substances -- which I think was more serious, because they were performance enhancing (ie. cheating) - but at least he wasn't dumb enough to get caught again.

4) WE'RE A LOSING TEAM. This leads to 12th Man's critical point above -- this would only happen on a losing team. If Clay Matthews was caught & suspended for steroids --> he'd let whole team down & kill the perfect season. There's a lot more pressure on him vs. TW/Davis. Losing begets apathy.



Again, the evil thought keeps creeping up -- the thought no one wants to admit having and that kills the team spirit/soul.... I have to admit my first reaction was "at least we may get a better draft pick..."

[irish]

Originally Posted by ethat001

Great, insightful posts. Glad to part of an informed discussion.

Here are my thoughts:

1) ATHLETES WILL PARTY. Most of us here went to parties in college / early 20's. Now infuse $1 million dollars, 6 months vacation per year, and unlimited ladies. Almost ALL of us would be partying - perhaps not exactly like these guys. Why does everyone always find it suprising they party hard... I say as long as it doesn't interfere on the field, it's fine.

2) MARIJUANA IS NOT DANGEROUS. Why do does the NFL even test for it? It's certainly not performance enhancing. It's being approved all over the nation, and they're debating approval in Maryland this week. Obama's admitted to all sorts of substance abuse in the past.

3) DAVIS / TW WERE BONEHEADS. Still, despite #1 and #2 above, they were idiots. Not so much the fact they did MJ. The thing was they did it REPEATEDLY, knowing they were already caught before, and knowing the consequences. Remember, even Santana Moss was linked to substances -- which I think was more serious, because they were performance enhancing (ie. cheating) - but at least he wasn't dumb enough to get caught again.

4) WE'RE A LOSING TEAM. This leads to 12th Man's critical point above -- this would only happen on a losing team. If Clay Matthews was caught & suspended for steroids --> he'd let whole team down & kill the perfect season. There's a lot more pressure on him vs. TW/Davis. Losing begets apathy.



Again, the evil thought keeps creeping up -- the thought no one wants to admit having and that kills the team spirit/soul.... I have to admit my first reaction was "at least we may get a better draft pick..."

The Redskins are irrelevant in the national pro football scene and are in the bottom 5 of teams over the past 10 years. This kind of losing creates the atmosphere for this to happen. This might be going on on every team but it seems only the Redskins are facing these kind of suspensions. The once great Redskin organization which has been down looks worse now (and I didnt think that was possible). Its a shame.

[SFREDSKIN]

Originally Posted by irish

The Redskins are irrelevant in the national pro football scene and are in the bottom 5 of teams over the past 10 years. This kind of losing creates the atmosphere for this to happen. This might be going on on every team but it seems only the Redskins are facing these kind of suspensions. The once great Redskin organization which has been down looks worse now (and I didnt think that was possible). Its a shame.

Are you saying the Redskins are the new Bengals? Maybe Fred and Trent were shipping those Lbs. to the Cincy WR.

[irish]

Originally Posted by SFREDSKIN

Are you saying the Redskins are the new Bengals? Maybe Fred and Trent were shipping those Lbs. to the Cincy WR.

I'm saying the Redskins are the new Bengals.

[REDSKINS4ever]

Originally Posted by irish

The Redskins are irrelevant in the national pro football scene and are in the bottom 5 of teams over the past 10 years. This kind of losing creates the atmosphere for this to happen. This might be going on on every team but it seems only the Redskins are facing these kind of suspensions. The once great Redskin organization which has been down looks worse now (and I didnt think that was possible). Its a shame.

It doesn't matter if the coach is Gibbs, Shanahan, Schottenheimer, Spurrier, or Zorn, this organization has indeed reached the lowest depths in sports. Yes, the Redskins are a storied franchise, but this kind of behavior and unaccountability and unprofessionalism would only be occurring within an organization that has reached the level of mediocrity that the Redskins franchise has reached.

When I first heard about this drug thing with Fred Davis and Trent Williams, I first thought that they violated the substance abuse policy for using performance enhancing drugs. But now that light has been shed on the real truth, which is the use of marijuana makes me angry as a fan. When the team is trying to build, what do they have to build on when their 2010 first round draft choice and their best tight end/receiver like smoking weed?

[MTK]

Originally Posted by REDSKINS4ever

It doesn't matter if the coach is Gibbs, Shanahan, Schottenheimer, Spurrier, or Zorn, this organization has indeed reached the lowest depths in sports. Yes, the Redskins are a storied franchise, but this kind of behavior and unaccountability and unprofessionalism would only be occurring within an organization that has reached the level of mediocrity that the Redskins franchise has reached.

When I first heard about this drug thing with Fred Davis and Trent Williams, I first thought that they violated the substance abuse policy for using performance enhancing drugs. But now that light has been shed on the real truth, which is the use of marijuana makes me angry as a fan. When the team is trying to build, what do they have to build on when their 2010 first round draft choice and their best tight end/receiver like smoking weed?

You think the Redskins are the only team dealing with players that smoke weed?

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

You think the Redskins are the only team dealing with players that smoke weed?

Absolutely not. But they're the only team this season that has any players getting suspended for it. And it just so happens to be two of our best players on an otherwise terrible offensive team. One of those players is also the highest draft pick Mike Shanahan has ever made. This same guy has a $80,000 gorilla necklace, is oft-injured, and draws personal foul penalties like they're blunts.

Sad state of affairs.

[irish]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

You think the Redskins are the only team dealing with players that smoke weed?

They are the only ones dealing with possible suspensions from smoking weed.