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Jalen Rose Makes a Case for Cultural Bias Around Marijuana Ban In the NFL and NBA

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

There’s a specific reason why the marijuana conversation in athletics is focused on the NBA and the NFL, according to Jalen Rose. The “NBA Countdown” host explained in a response to former NBA commissioner David Stern’s remarks about cannabis in the league.

“I’m now at the point where I think, personally, it probably should be removed from the [substance] ban list,” Stern told retired baller Al Harrington in the Uninterrupted YouTube documentary, “The Concept of Cannabis” Wednesday, Oct. 25. “You’ve persuaded me. If you told the fans that if the players rubbed it on their knees they wouldn’t have to take a night off, that would really send it over the top.”

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Rose, a former NBA player, weighed in on the statement Thursday, Oct. 26, noting that race seems to be a factor in this conversation.

“For those that don’t know alcohol is worse for you than marijuana,” Rose says. “And we’re only having this conversation in two sports: the NFL and the NBA. I’ve talked about this for years that this may be cultural. Because those [are] the only two sports that have salary caps, restrictions after high school and punish you for marijuana use.

“They don’t do so in NASCAR, in golf, in hockey or major league baseball. So those are the only two sports [where] we truly have this conversation so I appreciate the forward thinking of our former commissioner.”

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