While the Warriors have been at the center of at least one of the most over-dramatic and soap-opera-esque stories this season, coach Steve Kerr has also inspired a conversation on one very serious topic.
Specifically, Kerr got the bong sparked on the subject of using marijuana to cope with chronic pain, as he admitted to smoking the pot “twice during the last year and a half” after complications from back surgery – including fluid leaking into his spine — left him in agony caused by “searing headaches, nausea and dizziness.” Kerr is still a long way from being healthy, and that’s why his team blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals was the least of his worries.
Still, as he joked about being subject to a drug test by the NBA, Kerr created a huge new talking point for analysts and former and current players. In the same CBS Sports interview that caused even more drama between him and Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson also admitted to smoking pot after his back surgery, calling it a “distraction” on top of being a pain reliever.
Now, former NBA star and current ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups is weighing in with his support for medicinal marijuana use in the league.
For medicinal use, I think we absolutely need to have that conversation. The Players Association, they need to talk about that with the NBA, because there’s a lot of science behind it… because we’ve been through a ton of injuries. I’ve seen a piece on Jason Williams, who was the No. 2 pick in the draft, that talked about him being addicted to oxycontin and pain pills, and it would have been much better and much easier thing to have marijuana as a relief.
As Jalen Rose and Tracy McGrady pointed out, players are already smoking marijuana. They also have access to painkillers and alcohol, which McGrady argues lead to worse behavior. Still, the panel agrees, this is an issue of control and regulation.
As such, not everyone in the NBA is rushing to hot box a team bus with Kerr and Jackson, however. Suns coach Earl Watson was critical of Kerr’s admission, because he thinks it influences kids to believe smoking pot is “cool.” He focused on the “slippery slope” of weed as a gateway drug and said guys like Kerr need to be “very careful with your rhetoric.” Even Kerr’s own star player, Klay Thompson, is critical of the slippery slope, admitting that he’s fine with marijuana use for medicinal purposes, but he’s not cool with recreational use.
As Steven Adams, who is “not a doctor,” pointed out, there is still plenty to be learned about cannabis use. Cannabis is “weed,” in case you’re confused like Adams comically was.
