Steeler’s Martavis Bryant Setting Good Precedent During Drug Suspension
Martavis Bryant is doing what every suspended NFL player should be doing; Getting help. The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has reportedly traveled to Houston to work with “renowned substance-abuse counselor” John Lucas. Lucas himself was a former professional athlete who faced addition, and is now trying to help today’s young athletes in their own struggles.
The 23-year old receiver was drafted by the Steelers out of Clemson in 2014. In late August of 2015, he was handed a four game suspension from the NFL after violating the leagues’ Substance Abuse Policy. He will eligible to return to the Steelers in week five when they travel out west to take on the San Diego Chargers.
Martavis Bryant’s decision to seek counseling during his four-week suspension should set a strong precedent for what all suspended players should do during their suspensions. He made a smart, personal decision to find help before his situation got out of hand.
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The way the NFL currently handles suspensions is similar to how some schools handle student discipline. If a student is unruly, resulting in a suspension, they spend their days sleeping in at home with the ability to do whatever they please. In my former high school, certain incidents could lead to an in-school suspension. The student has to get up at
ungodly
regular school hours and is handed with some form of discipline during those school hours. This form of suspension creates a disincentive for students to act unruly. If they find out they get to spend a long period of time at home, what’s stopping them from doing it again just to get out of school.
During players suspensions, what are they left to do? They’re usually away from the team and the game, which is the only thing some know. Sitting out a month could create the possibility for repeated use of those banned substances, creating an unending cycle that hurts not just the player, but the team and the league.
For example, let me talk about a promising player who was the byproduct of an inadequate system. He’d received two straight Biletnikoff Awards (best collegiate receiver) and was a unanimous All American. He was drafted fifth overall pick by a team stuck in a bad rut. In his rookie year, he was arrested for DUI in Oklahoma. The next year, he was suspended not once, but twice under the leagues Substance Abuse Policy. He’s now serving an indefinite suspension, and has recently been denied reinstatement.
That player is Justin Blackmon.
In my opinion, if a player is suspended under the Substance Abuse Policy, they should be required to attend some form of counseling. In cases like Justin Blackmon’s, the player is suspended, but he continues to violate the NFL’s policy. What do you expect a player who’s had these issues to do during a four-week hiatus from football? Apparently for Justin Blackmon, it was violate the policy.
Martavis Bryant’s decision to seek professional help during his suspension is one that should be praised. It should also be followed by every player that is in a position similar to Bryants’, as well as the NFL. When the next CBA negotiations arrive, the Substance Abuse Policy will surely be on the table. It would be in the best interests of both the NFL and the NFLPA to come to a resolution to this ongoing epidemic of player misconduct. Hopefully, it’ll save not just the careers, but the lives of players such as Justin Blackmon.