I'm just going to say a few things and then shrink back out of this thread (which is probably a welcome sight for some of you
)1. It's absolutely true that in today's society that everything is much more visible because of the internet. Contrary to thread belief I actually have spent a number of years on this earth prior when 'the series of tubes' came into existence. Yes, there is no doubt that players did things in those days that likely rival that of kids like BJ are doing now.
But like it or not the game has changed. For the precise reason that everything can be visible to everyone, kids nowadays have to be that much more careful in what they do -- especially in front of an audience. Whereas before secondhand word of misdeeds could just be dismissed as hearsay, now it is staring at you in the face in full-color HD. And because it can be replayed again and again in perfect fidelity it's not something that would easily be forgotten.
If the video becomes widespread enough then the league will be forced to investigate to protect its own image . Especially in the wake of the Donald Sterling fiasco I would think that everyone affiliated with the NBA would be especially wary of doing anything to draw the ire of the commish. Now clearly this is not in the same class as the Sterling tapes but you really don't want to be noticed in a bad light right now.
Is this fair to players who are playing now compared to two decades ago? No. Is it reality? yes.
2. Will Brandon Jennings likely get into trouble for testing positive for taking Molly in this particular instance? Not likely. If he repeats this behavior enough times could he be hit with a random test? Sure (players have been hit with testing positive before). Will he miss games because of it? Not likely according to posters here. I haven't read up but I trust you guys. Fine.
I'm never going to be a fan of using drugs or anything that is against team / league rules -- regardless of whether or not the NBA current drug testing policy is a joke. I guess I want players on the team I am rooting for to take pride in what they do and hold themselves to a high standard conduct. I tend to believe that players who are disciplined off the court are also disciplined on it. (and vice-versa).
Could this have just been a freak one-time instance? Sure. Will it fairly/unfairly paint the picture that BJ is not a player who holds himself to high standards? See point 1.
3. Players are absolutely entitled to do as they please on their own time provided it doesn't get in the way of their ability to best serve their team. They need to use good judgement to avoid instances in their personal lives that would hurt their team. That's my view anyway.
This was an instance where Brandon Jennings and Nick Young were standing on stage in front of a DJ booth in a crowded club. Nowadays everyone has a cell phone. Most have cameras. Jennings is not dumb. He is aware of this. Yet he chose to stand there in front of everyone and reach out with a white tablet/pill/piece of gum/painkiller/etc and theatrically offer it to Nick Young. Even if it turns out that the pill was harmless and made of sugar, the act looks bad and can be interpreted as something else. (Evidence of this is the existence of this very thread). This was poor judgement for that reason alone.
4. If a cop sees one person reach out and hand a white pill-like item to another person in a club setting then I feel that is grounds to reasonably suspect that distribution of a controlled substance is occurring. Is that a reasonable conclusion to draw? If so, then wouldn't that officer have the right to search Brandon Jennings for additional drug paraphernalia?
The above is the part that really jeopardizes the career of Jennings and hurts the Pistons directly. If he gets arrested then there's going to be a suspension. The league really can't look the other way on that can they?
You can call me a mother. You can call me unrealistic I guess. I do think that I did not deliver the points that I was trying to make in a very tactful manner previously. However I still do feel that Jennings has a lot of growing up to do. I also feel that this type of conduct is much more often seen on mediocre / bad teams then on the ones whose players are locked in on winning a championship. Can you find individual examples to the contrary? Most likely so. But I'm speaking in a broad overall sense.
If you feel otherwise, fine. We'll have to just agree to disagree.
