Some guys just don’t get it. There is certain behavior that your average, responsible adult would expect to stop after high school or even college, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. Take the Washington Redskins’ Trent Williams and Fred Davis, for example. According to the Washington Post, the NFL has suspended both the tackle and tight end for the remainder of the season after the NFL and NFL Players Association reached a settlement. Davis and Williams have each failed at least three drug tests since entering the league, two of which occurred since the lockout ended in July.
League sources familiar with the case say that the failed drug tests for both players were for recreational drugs, believed to be marijuana. Davis and Williams were part of a group of 11 players who failed drug tests shortly after reporting to camp in July. The fate of the group had been undecided as the NFL and NFLPA sorted out how rules were going to be enforced and if players would receive a “grace period” because of the lockout. Nine of the players have been let off without facing any punishment, but Davis and Williams made it easy for the NFL to determine their fate when they failed another test after the season began.
The NFL’s substance abuse program says that any player who fails three tests for recreational drugs is to be suspended for a full year, but the grace period allowed the union to negotiate the suspension down to four games and convince the league to treat it as a second offense for each player.
How does this happen? That’s pretty simple: these are grown men who are too immature to get it. Either that, or they have a serious addiction that needs to be addressed. Players can blame the lockout all they want for their injuries or their lack of conditioning, but when you’re an NFL player you don’t need to sit around smoking weed all day because there’s a work stoppage. If you’re like Williams and Davis and can’t help it or don’t know any better, put some effort into it and figure out a way to avoid getting caught.
