Charles Rogers Liked Weed and Pills A Lot

Hide your children because we have word of another professional athlete smoking marijuana and taking other drugs! I know, I’m as shocked as you are. Even more shocking is the fact that it was Detroit Lions first-round bust Charles Rogers, a player who had a four-game substance abuse suspension. He’s the subject of an upcoming Outside the Lines feature. First, to the clip (with some tweaks courtesy of Tirico Suave):↵
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↵Rogers has been a bust in every sense of the word after being selected No. 2 overall in the 2003 NFL draft. Hill points out that after his second season, his “trademark speed” was gone. So ... what’d that trademark speed get him in those first two years? Well, it got him two broken collarbones, which allowed him to play in a grand total of six games. (I can see the anti-drug campaign ads now. “Marijuana impairs your judgment and weakens your collarbones!”)↵↵And look, I’m not here to necessarily make fun of Rogers if he has a serious substance abuse issue, which certainly appears to be the case given his pretty extensive list of run-ins with the law. But shouldn’t the NFL be a little red-faced today? ↵

↵↵Anyone surprised by the fact that pro athletes tend to form drink-and-‘dro habits like the rest of the population is incredibly naïve, but I also think fans are well within their rights to be a little bit angry when you hear not only stories like Rogers’, but also ones like LenDale White, who went on a Patron-free diet and dropped 30-plus pounds. At what point does a club or league being lenient turn into an organization that’s just enabling someone with a serious substance abuse issue? ↵

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