Nearly a year ago, during Holy Week, crackpot Florida Rev. Terry Jones of Koran-burning fame announced he planned to demonstrate in front of a mosque in Dearbon, Mich. The Posse remarked at the time that this was just rubbing salt in the wounds of Muslims and most likely would lead to even more harsh treatment, and possibly more deaths, of American prisoners of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This year's Holy Week developments are of a different nature: The third Detroit Lion in the past couple months has been arrested for marijuana possession, and Michigan State basketball player Derrick Nix was also arrested and jailed for marijuana possession. He has been suspended indefinitely and may have played his last game as a Spartan (just a hunch).
When defensive tackle Nick Fairley was busted Tuesday in Alabama for marijuana possession, he became the third member of the Lions' 2011 draft class busted for possession of the wicked weed. In fact, running back Mikel Leshoure, who misssed his entire rookie year with injuries, has been arrested twice in less than a month for marijuana use and possession. In January, offensive lineman Johnny Culbreath was busted in South Carolina for possession of pot.
Head coaches and management cannot be 24/7 babysitters, and Nix is just one of many college players who have run afoul of the law. He may have just thrown away his senior season at MSU and could end up finishing his so-so college career at a lesser school. Too bad for him and for head coach Tom Izzo, who places a premium on good character and concern for the integrity of the MSU basketball program. He's worked hard to help Nix live up to his potential, in part by cracking the whip so Nix would lose 30 pounds from his formerly chubby frame to become a more agile low post player. What Nix did is shameful for himself, his team, his university and Izzo.
But the LIons' situation appears to be even more serious. Maybe they need more due dilligence when they draft players. Is marijuana use that common among NFL players? And given the NFL's drug testing and the possibility players could be impairing their future earnings prospects through their illicit activities, these young men possibly have demonstrated they "ain't the sharpest tools in the shed" to pull a stunt like this.
It's too bad people who are so blessed often don't appreciate it and fail to act responsibly.
Comments