Written By: Fiona Stockard
Wes Welker Suspended
Wes Welker, a wide receiver on the Denver Broncos, was just suspended from the first four games of the NFL season.
Okay, first off, who cares about football? Second, who cares if a player is suspended? Oh, right, everyone cares about football! I’m a girl and I care about football!
More importantly, Welker was suspended because he tested positive for amphetamines. He’s denying everything. That’s a smart move, Wes. I played the “I don’t know” card more times than I can count!
“I’m as shocked as everyone at today’s news,” Welker stated. “I want to make one thing abundantly clear: I would NEVER knowingly take a substance to gain a competitive advantage in any way.”
Why Did He Test Positive?
There’s a rumor going around that Welker took Molly while partying at the Kentucky Derby. He strongly denies this. “That’s a joke. I don’t do marijuana, I don’t do drugs. I don’t do any drugs,” he stated.
Yeah, Wes, I didn’t do any drugs either. When the police found heroin and syringes on me? That must have been some kind of mistake!
Regardless of how Welker ended up testing positive, the fact that he did pop positive remains. So, what now?
Well, he’s suspended for four games and eligible to return to the NFL on October 6th. Until then, the Broncos will have to wait and pray.
A Disturbing Trend
Wes Welker is the second Denver Bronco suspended this preseason for violating the NFL’s substance policy. Bronco kicker Matt Prater is also going to miss the first four games for repeated alcohol violations. Hmmm. I guess Denver really is the mile high city!
That’s not the end of this story though. There’s a disturbing trend going on in the NFL right now. Wes Welker is the thirty-third player to be suspended this preseason and the thirtieth to be suspended for violating the league’s substance policy.
Let’s slow down a minute and think about this. Welker is the 30th player to be suspended during the preseason for substance abuse. 30. Suspensions. During. The. Preseason. Holy s**t.
According to SporTrac.com, this number is up 60% from 2013. That’s a dramatic increase. Why? Why are all these players being suspended for substance abuse? Are more players getting high? Is the NFL just starting to do something now? What’s going on here?
What’s The Solution?
Welker emailed the Denver Post on September 2nd. In this email he stated, “I have never been concerned with the leagues performance enhancing or drug abuse policies because under no scenario would they ever apply to me, but I now know, that [drug-policy procedures] are clearly flawed, and I will do everything in my power to ensure they are corrected, so other individuals and teams aren’t negatively affected so rashly like this.”
With players calling for drug-policy modification, maybe the NFL’s substance policy will change. Who knows? Maybe their substance policy doesn’t need to be changed. Maybe players need to stop getting high. Who knows? I certainly don’t have the answers.
What I do have are the questions I just asked. Those are the questions we need to be asking. That’s the conversation we need to be starting. If change happens, it’s going to be from ordinary people sitting down and talking. It’s going to be from us!