Chris Long has officially retired from the game of football and the former Eagles star now has the time, to take down Twitter trolls, or address the NFL’s dismay with marijuana usage. The two time Super Bowl champion and well-known philanthropist opened up about his marijuana usage during his NFL career, telling Dan Patrick he’s “enjoyed his fair share’ of weed while playing.
“We should be headed to a place where we allow players to enjoy what I would not even call a drug – it’s far less dangerous than guzzling a fifth of alcohol and going out after a game,” Long said. “Chances are the player won’t even make it to the club [laughs] to do this sort of thing that we all kind of wag our finger at when we hear about a guy getting in a fight or getting a DUI, you’re never going to read about him sitting on the couch and binge-watching ‘Game of Thrones’ again.
“I think from a standpoint of what’s safer for people and the player, certainly people in the spotlight, it is far less harmful than alcohol, it is far less harmful than tobacco, and at various points in the league’s history, they have engaged in partnerships on different levels with those respective industries.”
‘I enjoyed my fair share’
Long was addressing Patrick’s questions about the NFL and NFLPA agreeing to improve the players’ pain management while helping them maintain positive mental health. Such a ruling will likely see the NFL formally allow players to use marijuana and cannabinoids for pain.
One of the true men and gentlemen in the NFL Long is beloved by many and his admission today will likely be viewed more as a call to allow marijuana in the league because it doesn’t have to carry the dirty stereotypes that other drugs usually bring.
“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,” he said. “So, you know, and I was never afraid to say that and I’m able to say it more explicitly now: if not for that, I’m not as capable of coping with the stressors of day-to-day NFL life. A lot of guys get a lot of pain management out of it. Toradol did more pain management for me.”
For years now, the NFL has refused to budge on removing marijuana from its list of banned substances as part of the drug policy — even as states with NFL teams have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal and recreational usage.
You can listen to Long and Dan Patrick below:
