Does it ever shock you when you hear about a professional athlete using drugs? Of course it doesn't. Why? Because it happens almost every week. What shocks me is that they would jeopardize their fragile, short-lived careers to smoke a joint or two.
Such is the case of two running backs for the National Football League's (NFL) Pittsburgh Steelers. On August 21st, police pulled over Le'Veon Bell's Chevrolet Camaro. Both Bell and his teammate, Lagarrette Blount (pronounced "blunt" pun intended), were arrested along with a female passenger in the car when police, after smelling marijuana, searched the vehicle and located 22 grams of cannabis.
Mind you this happened just hours before the players were set to board a team charter flight for a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The sheer audacity of it.
Here is a surprising part of the story - Bell, the driver of the vehicle, was "shocked" to find out that it is frowned upon to drive after smoking marijuana. What planet is this guy living on? The second-year running back from Michigan State University claimed that he had smoked two hours earlier and was perfectly fine.
Blount was released and made the team plane. Bell had to go to the hospital to have his blood tested and was forced to pay his own way to Philly.
How do you think this is going to affect their seasons? Most experts think nothing will result this year as it will take more than the season to resolve itself. Most likely, they will be fined, forced to take a drug awareness class and miss one game next year.
I would like to see them voluntarily take an online drug class and refrain from using illegal drugs. What do you think?