Former NBA commissioner David Stern, who ran the league from 1984-2014, made headlines Wednesday for his stance on marijuana and how he believes it "probably should be removed" from the league's banned substances list.
"I think all of the (sports) leagues are now appropriately focused on player training, structuring of the right parts of their body, player rehabilitation in the case of injury, player nutrition ... (marijuana) should be a part of that conversation," Stern told former NBA player Al Harrington in a documentary published by UNINTERRUPTED.
In the wake of Stern's comments, NBA executive vice president of communications Mike Bass told USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt:
“While (current NBA) commissioner (Adam) Silver has said that we are interested in better understanding the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana, our position remains unchanged regarding the use by current NBA players of marijuana for recreational purposes.”
When the current collective bargaining agreement, which was agreed upon in December, was negotiated between players and the league, marijuana remained on the banned list, and removing it was not a focal point of discussions, two people with knowledge of the negotiations told USA TODAY Sports. They spoke under the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The documentary, titled The Concept of Cannabis, follows Harrington's journey from NBA star to marijuana entrepreneur.
When Harrington raised the question regarding recreational marijuana use among players in states where it has been legalized, Stern said, "We've got to change the collective bargaining agreement and let you do what's legal in your state."
"I think it's up to the sports leagues to anticipate where this is going and maybe lead the way," he continued.
Stern added that, during his reign as commissioner, it was "generally known" that a lot of players smoked marijuana until the league tightened the rules.
"Some of our players came to us and said, 'some of these guys are high coming into the games.' We began tightening it up, and at that time, people accepted the generally held wisdom that marijuana was a gateway drug."
Now, Stern says, there's "a completely different perception."
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