Arthur and Chalmers In Trouble

[The Guilty Party]

According to new reports, both Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were caught with weed at the NBA's Rookie Transitional Program in NY. Both players were sent home and will probably be fined and suspended.

Anyone know what the suspension period for weed has been in the past???

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3567481

[ankle420breaker]

I assume they were actually caught in the act... like mid-joint... if they were both caught. Pretty careless move.

[The76thDegree]

well it's good to see the program is working well

[The Guilty Party]

Seriously, getting caught with paraphernalia is one thing. Getting caught mid-act is straight up stupid, if that's what happened. Put a bathroom towel under the doors, guys.... errr.... or so I hear that's what you're supposed to do.

[Loose Cannon]

Seriously, getting caught with paraphernalia is one thing. Getting caught mid-act is straight up stupid, if that's what happened. Put a bathroom towel under the doors, guys.... errr.... or so I hear that's what you're supposed to do.

These guys are excellent career starters and masters at first impressions.

[The Guilty Party]

Chris Broussard just updated his column and put this bombshell in there as well...

A source said No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley was also in the room. The NBA, however, said Beasley is not believed to have been involved.

I suppose it makes sense for Beasley to be in there since he is now teammates with Chalmers but still.... this isn't exactly what the league wants to see out of these guys before they've played in even their first pre-season game. For conversations sake, Arthur and Chalmers mean very little to the league but Beasley does mean something. Any chance that they didn't send Beasley home in an attempt to keep him out of this news report??

[ankle420breaker]

Seriously, getting caught with paraphernalia is one thing. Getting caught mid-act is straight up stupid, if that's what happened. Put a bathroom towel under the doors, guys.... errr.... or so I hear that's what you're supposed to do.

You just don't put yourself in that position. The opportunity cost of getting high just isn't worth the repercussions if your a professional athlete. Save it for the off-season.

[geiger]

2 out of 3 have earned themselves a suspension without pay. Maybe 1 game, maybe more. All 3 have earned a lot of random drug tests over the next few seasons. Just stupid.

[ankle420breaker]

Is Speights in NY for this NBA Rookie Transitional Program? If so, I have no doubt he was reading his bible while Chalmers and Arthur were in mid-session.

[sec-106]

I was upset until I heard there were women involved.

[dbodner]

There's no suspension for the first two violations. Each additional one increments 5 games (i.e. 3rd time is a 5 game, 4th is a 10 game, etc).

http://www.nbpa.org/cba_articles/articl ... p#section8

(c) Penalties.
Any player who (i) tests positive for marijuana pursuant to Section 5 (Reasonable Cause Testing), Section 6 (Random Testing), or Section 14 (Additional Bases for Testing), (ii) is adjudged by the Grievance Arbitrator pursuant to Section 5(e) above to have used or possessed marijuana, or (iii) has been convicted of (including a plea of guilty, no contest or nolo contendere to) the use or possession of marijuana in violation of the law, shall suffer the following penalties:

(A) For the first such violation, the player shall be required to enter the Marijuana Program;

(B) For the second such violation, the player shall be fined $25,000 and, if the player is not then subject to in-patient or aftercare treatment in the Marijuana Program, be required to enter the Marijuana Program;

(C) For the third such violation, the player shall be suspended for five (5) games and, if the player is not then subject to in-patient or aftercare treatment in the Marijuana Program, be required to enter the Marijuana Program; and

(D) For any subsequent violation, the player shall be suspended for five (5) games longer than his immediately preceding suspension for violating the Marijuana Program and, if the player is not then subject to in-patient or aftercare treatment in the Marijuana Program, be required to enter the Marijuana Program.

[The Guilty Party]

The column has been updated yet again and this time, Beasley's name has been removed completely from the column. I wonder if someone from the NBA talked to Broussard.

[CoachK]

At least now you know why Chalmers was so calm taking the last shot.

[LongLiveHinkie]

The next step is smoking weed one hour before a urine test.

[geiger]

Dbodner, being that this was all over the press, while the NBA might not suspend them for this, their teams might and they will be well within their rights. Every single NBA contract that I'm aware of has clauses about behavior, illegal acts, arrests, non-basketball activities, etc. If the teams chose to punish these guys for getting kicked out of a mandatory NBA rookie's program, part of which talks about not smoking pot, for smoking pot, I seriously doubt the BPA will be able to get those suspensions overturned.

Either way, it was stupid and embarassing for these guys and will lead to multiple random tests in the future. And the whole thing could have been avoided if they just put a towel under the door.

[geiger]

From TrueHoop blog on ESPN:

"Although the league says no decision has been made yet as to whether or not they will be suspended, it's extremely likely that Arthur and Chalmers are regretting their decision.

Before even suiting up for a single regular season NBA game, they are getting a mighty public shaming and possibly a suspension."

[The Guilty Party]

Also from the TrueHoop column...

Every basketball person I talk to says the same thing: That was so dumb. People have reacted to the reports by accusing the players violated everything from common sense (partying at the League's big "you're a professional now" confab?) to basic pot smokers' etiquette (you mean they didn't learn about the towel-under-the-door thing in college?)

I'm glad to see that a number of people have pointed out the old towel-under-the-door trick. Also of interest is that out of 122,000 people polled on espn.com, 51% of them responded that they are not bothered at all by the idea of professional athletes smoking pot. Even though I was one of those voters, I am a little shocked to see the percentage that high. Finally, I love the picture used on the TrueHoop page of Darrell Arthur. As the caption reads, this is probably the last time the NBA takes a picture of him in the clouds.

[Loose Cannon]

I honestly don't know why anyone would be bothered by it.

[The Guilty Party]

I honestly don't know why anyone would be bothered by it.

While I have absolutely no problem with it, I think there is a significant portion of the country who believes all drugs are bad and people who do drugs are criminals. Either way, it'll be interesting to see if Arthur and Chalmers are suspended for this. According to Abbott, they won't be suspended for smoking pot but they could be suspended for missing a mandatory meeting.

[barkley34]

Maybe that is why some teams were scared off Arthur and he fell in the draft? I imagine that teams probably employ private detectives to follow the players around to see if they are out partying every night etc.,, before they commit to paying them millions of dollars.

Anyway, you have to be pretty stupid to get caught smoking pot at the rookie orientation seminar that teaches young guys to avoid getting caught with pot. That is like bringing a case of beer to an alcoholics anonymous meeting.