NHL Drug Policy: Las Vegas an issue?
By Ryan Ritchie
The NHL drug policy does not currently include cocaine as a banned substance. However, if a player does test positive for the drug, he is subject to anonymously entering stage one of the NHL’s drug and treatment program.
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Once entered into the program, there are very strict rules to be followed to avoid entering stage two like Montreal Canadiens forward Zack Kassian did. All it took was a vehicle crash for him to violate terms of the program.
Below is a collaboration of quotes from TSN’s article that broke on the issue of cocaine use: (quotes in italics)
“The number of [cocaine] positives are more than they were in previous years and they’re going up,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told TSN in an interview. “I wouldn’t say it’s a crisis in any sense. What I’d say is drugs like cocaine are cyclical and you’ve hit a cycle where it’s an ‘in’ drug again.
“I’d be shocked if we’re talking about a couple dozen guys. I don’t want to be naïve here … but if we’re talking more than 20 guys I’d be shocked. Because we don’t test in a comprehensive way, I can’t say.”
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During the off-season, the NHL drug-tests 60 players, the most the league is allowed to under its labour agreement.
One-third of the 2,400 player urine samples collected each year are screened more closely for drugs of abuse, such as cocaine. Those more comprehensive tests have shown cocaine use by NHL players is on the rise. Drugs, Daly said, will be a focus this season as the NHL tries to educate its players on the dangers of celebrity life.
“One major point of emphasis is party drugs like coke, ecstasy, molly, those types of drugs,” Daly said. “When bad things happen, we try to address the bad things.”
For 1/3 of 2400 to be tested for drug abuse, that’s only 800 players. And we don’t even know how effective the random selection process is. Who’s to say if the NHL knew it had a problem with cocaine, that it couldn’t hide it under the rug while they try to get control by skewing the selection process or publicized results.
According to an NHLPA source, union executive director Donald Fehr last season raised the issue of cocaine use in closed-door meetings with numerous NHL clubs, canvassing players to ask why the drug is becoming more popular, and warning them about the health dangers and the consequences of being caught.
Over the next two months, as Fehr meets this year’s crop of NHL players, he will again address the subject of cocaine, according to an NHLPA source.
Fehr said his discussions with players are confidential and noted that players would have to agree to alter their collective bargaining agreement with the NHL before the league could begin testing all urine samples for cocaine or other recreational drugs.
The NHL and NHLPA aren’t the only ones worried about a resurgence in cocaine use.
Last season, a senior Maple Leafs team executive met with Toronto Police Service officers to address concerns that Leafs players were purportedly using cocaine or were associating with those who were, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A Maple Leafs spokesperson declined to comment.
Sep 21, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; General aerial view of the Las Vegas strip and Las Vegas Blvd., including the Las Vegas Arena and Mandalay Bay, Luxor, MGM Grand, Caesars Palace, New York-New York, Venetian and Stratosphere hotels. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The NHL and the NHLPA have been dogged recently by a number of player arrests for drug-related offences. In April 2014, Tampa Bay Lightning player Ryan Malone was arrested and charged with cocaine possession and driving under the influence. Former Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll was charged this summer in Las Vegas with possessing cocaine, although he pleaded guilty to a lesser non-drug-related charge of breaching the peace.
“I am certainly not unique,” Clune wrote in a July 1, 2015, story published on The Players Tribune website. “There are players in the NHL right now who are suffering and you would never know it from looking at their stat sheet or how hard they compete in practice. … Plenty of teammates and coaches had suspicions about me over the years, but nobody knew how bad it was. I was just the wild man. Every hockey team has one. Or 10.”
From looking through Nevada drug statistics, it’s pretty clear that the state ranks near the top in drug use. It also makes sense that when you look at the data, Las Vegas is the biggest hot spot in the entire state for all statistics. Sin City is one of few cities in the United States that is alive 24 hours a day.
It’s known as a hot spot destination for tourists where you can enjoy some sun and fun. A high density of casinos and gambling, which the city was born on. With gambling comes drugs. Not to mention being close enough to the Mexican border to be a perfect destination for illegal drugs. It’s a place where people with money can go and have a good time.
Does that sound like a good recipe for a young hockey player with millions of dollars? Can we actually do anything to adjust the NHL drug policy to help? (would have to tweak the collective bargaining agreement)
Gary Bettman insists that they don’t want to punish players, but rather educate them about the harms of using illicit drugs. So does it really make sense to put these kids at even higher risk in a city with a higher propensity of drug use and overall drug availability?
What about the possible worst-case scenario, which is some individual or group has serious blackmail material on a player(s) and forces some type of “point shaving” type situation or something along those lines linked to effective the outcome of a game.
Do we really want to steer our boat down this slippery slope or windy road? Could a disaster in Las Vegas finally be the final straw for Gary Bettman? Seems like an impossible pipe dream, doesn’t it?
Next: Breakout Candidates for 2015-16
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