Brent fails two drug test...Ordered back to jail

[ufcrules1]

Some people are just weak. No excuses, no reasons, no outs. He may just have no discipline or will power. Take the accident and how he lived his life as Exhibit A. I know lots of people like him. I have people in my family like him. They go to jail, rehab, hospital .... get clean for months ... maybe even years at a time. Talk the good talk. Even walk the good walk and say how good it feels to live a clean life. Next thing you know, they're right back at it. They're just powerless and weak when it comes to this type of stuff. Only they can determine what it takes to turn it around. Sometimes you just got to let it go.

Yup, all of that is fine and dandy but he needs to get the rehab and figure his life out without representing the Star at the same time.

 

[Crazed Liotta Eyes]

Until it negatively impacts the team's well being or performance, .. I don't see a reason not to still try to help him beat this addiction.

I have coached youth sports for many many seasons. As a coach, these boys become your own. You would do anything to help them. Some need more than others. Some need help over a longer period of time.

It's a hard thing to stop caring, and stop trying to get through to them and help them grow up.

Pretty neat when they finally stand on their own, .. and when they look at you, you can see it in their eyes, .. "I couldn't have made it without you coach, .. thanks for never giving up on me."

Whether one can be addicted to marijuana is debatable. In my opinion, Brent is not smoking because he's addicted. He's either just plain stupid or has mental health issues. If it's the latter, I'm not opposed to the team trying to continue helping him. If his excuse for smoking weed is that he's addicted, then get rid of him now.

 

[Idgit]

Whether one can be addicted to marijuana is debatable. In my opinion, Brent is not smoking because he's addicted. He's either just plain stupid or has mental health issues. If it's the latter, I'm not opposed to the team trying to continue helping him. If his excuse for smoking weed is that he's addicted, then get rid of him now.

He's probably dealing with some significant depression issues relating to the death of his friend and his involvement in the death. I'm not sure how health benefits work under the CBA, but I wouldn't be surprised if the team's providing medical insurance or counseling services now that they'd be unable to provide if he were cut.

 

[jobberone]

I doubt his addiction counselors are as worried about the MJ like the alcohol but he should be abstaining from all depressants and substances. Alcohol is a strong depressant and MJ is a depressant. No mind altering substances right now period.

 

[Iago33]

I hate to be the grammar police, but I hate when people put periods outside of a quotation. You do realize that's incorrect, don't you?

Only in America. Maybe the poster is from another country.

 

[Hoofbite]

Could Dallas not support him if he wasn't on the roster?

Why couldn't they practice all the accountability they preach by getting him off the team and still provide the same support structure for him?

 

[Idgit]

Could Dallas not support him if he wasn't on the roster?

Why couldn't they practice all the accountability they preach by getting him off the team and still provide the same support structure for him?

Medical insurance? Or are you sure there's not counseling available to league players for these sorts of substance abuse issues that Bren't wouldn't be entitled to if he were off the roster? Maybe something similar to whatever the team provides for players when they have undisclosed painkiller addictions and the like ?

If they're keeping him on the roster at this point, it's a safe bet they're doing it for the betterment of the player and not because of what he might mean to the roster whenever his legal issues are addressed and the NFL gets done with whatever they might possibly do to him. No other team is going to touch the guy right now, anyway.

 

[jobberone]

Could Dallas not support him if he wasn't on the roster?

Why couldn't they practice all the accountability they preach by getting him off the team and still provide the same support structure for him?

That is a fair question. Don't know. I submit there is a big difference in supporting a well liked team mate and bringing in a known problem player. So in his case I don't see a reason to hurry and get rid of the guy. That's just one mans opinion and I see other's.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

On the other hand, who here hasn't drank and drove and who here has not puff-puff pass-pass and gotten the munchies.?
Brent will half to live with his friend's death for the rest of his life and that sort of, at least to me, is punishment enough.
I think that if Jerra is keeping Brent on the team for humanitarian reasons, then Jerra might be a bigger mans than many around here. I would not be adversity to halfing him maybe rejoin the team in person and get his life back on track. Football is his only likely skill and taking that away would reduce him to nothing. I know that forgivenus is hard but if many more could rise to that level of thinking, this would be a better world. I am overcome with my mercy and my eloquince so I half to go now and shoot illegal fireworks. Remember, the quality of mercy is very good and stuff.

 

[Hoofbite]

Medical insurance? Or are you sure there's not counseling available to league players for these sorts of substance abuse issues that Bren't wouldn't be entitled to if he were off the roster? Maybe something similar to whatever the team provides for players when they have undisclosed painkiller addictions and the like ?

I'm almost positive his coverage wouldn't terminate the moment he is released. Most states have laws that protect the individuals after being fired for a period of time. He could even qualify for COBRA which would allow him to keep his NFL insurance even though he'd have to pay the premiums all by himself. Even if his coverage did terminate, he's earned more than enough money in the last year to acquire coverage of his own. Aside from state and federal law, I'm betting the NFL has unique laws set up for the players. I can't imagine that free agents are out there without coverage. What's a player supposed to do if he's rehabbing after the last year in his contract? I doubt the rules apply to all the players, obviously camp bodies don't get these sort of perks but I would think any player who makes the final roster has his benefits extend for at least a year from that day.

As far as substance abuse issues, who says he even has one? Cause he tested positive? Maybe he just doesn't get it. The guy has been under heavy supervision for the last 8 months so it's very unlikely that the first urine sample he gave that was positive was the very first time they had tested him. He was probably tested the night of the crash and from that point on he was tested whenever his bond supervisor felt like he should get tested. He didn't have a positive as far as I know during the season, therefore the idea he that he has some substance abuse issue isn't all that well supported.

I doubt the league has anything close to a system like they have (if they do) for painkillers. Painkillers are highly addictive and come with severe withdrawal symptoms that produces drug-seeking behavior. I talked to someone once about withdrawal from opioids and alcohol and the guy flat out said, "alcohol withdrawal will kill you and opioid withdrawal isn't going to but I'd rather go through alcohol withdrawal than opioid withdrawal any day of the week". When is the last time that someone ever even heard of marijuana withdrawal? The US is the far and away the worlds biggest consumer of prescription painkillers. Something on the order of 25% of the world's supply in comparison to 5% of the world's population. Painkillers are high addictive and literally hard as hell to stop. If he were actually addicted to painkillers I might actually view his situation differently.

If they're keeping him on the roster at this point, it's a safe bet they're doing it for the betterment of the player and not because of what he might mean to the roster whenever his legal issues are addressed and the NFL gets done with whatever they might possibly do to him.

Betterment of the player is great when you have a guy who for whatever reason is in a crappy situation but is doing everything he can to turn things around. Betterment of the player is great for guys who may just need some extra time to mature. Dez is a great example and I would say the stuff that Tyron has gone through with his family is also a great example. These are guys who've been dealt a crappy hand in one way or the other but who also want to make themselves better. These are the guys who can actually flourish and grow when given strong support.

Josh Brent, in spite of all the support in the world, has still tested positive on two different occasions while awaiting trial. I don't buy the addiction aspect because he doesn't have a history of failed tests prior to the end of May. I don't believe for a second that he went from the end of November all the way to the end of May without taking a test along the way. That would be a failure on behalf of his supervisor, IMO. I also don't believe that he was able to make it through the entire season without being tested once. In 2011 they were testing 10 players per team, per week.....plus a few suspected players, for a grand total of 350 tests per week. Averages alone would make any one player likely to be tested 3 times over the course of the season. On top of that I'm pretty sure they all have to be tested at least once at some point.

If anything he's self-medicating which is something that should have been addressed after the first positive. The fact that he got a second positive test is almost unbelievable.

He tested positive. Was informed of the positive test. Then, he smoked more weed and tested positive again.

This all happened while he was in a support system that is undoubtedly as good as anyone could get. That's another thing. The support system didn't work. Even while getting all the support, possibly counseling you talk about and having a positive environment to thrive in he still couldn't stay on the straight and narrow. You have to have guys who WANT TO be better. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time.

Maybe he doesn't have a substance abuse issue. Maybe he has an irresponsibility issue. This is after all, the same guy who apparently didn't learn enough from his first DUI so he continued the same behavior and ultimately got a second DUI that killed someone. Is it really so hard to believe that he just can't make responsible decisions? Why is Josh Brent different than any other player with a history of poor decision making? Why are we even discussing alternatives when the same behavior by any other player in the league would be ridiculed?

No other team is going to touch the guy right now, anyway

.

They shouldn't and Dallas shouldn't. He hasn't shown the ability to act responsibly and he won't set foot on the field again for some time, if ever.

What's the ultimate ending here anyway? How long do they keep him around, until sentencing? The guy is going to have to face the issue on his own. The team can't even support him at this point because his irresponsible behavior has gotten him locked up. They've gone far beyond what could be expected. I don't think having an approach that says, "we supported you while we could but since you've basically eliminated our ability to support you we're going to have to part ways", is an unreasonable approach. They did what they could for the guy and he dug himself a deeper hole and now they can't do anything other than pass off one-liners to the media. Time to move on. Nobody would think any less of the team if they decided to part ways with him after he repeated violated the conditions of his release and got himself put into jail.

 

[Idgit]

...What's the ultimate ending here anyway? How long do they keep him around, until sentencing? The guy is going to have to face the issue on his own. The team can't even support him at this point because his irresponsible behavior has gotten him locked up. They've gone far beyond what could be expected. I don't think having an approach that says, "we supported you while we could but since you've basically eliminated our ability to support you we're going to have to part ways", is an unreasonable approach. They did what they could for the guy and he dug himself a deeper hole and now they can't do anything other than pass off one-liners to the media. Time to move on. Nobody would think any less of the team if they decided to part ways with him after he repeated violated the conditions of his release and got himself put into jail.

It's tough to have a debate on the topic when we simply don't know if there are benefits that apply to players that would not apply in this case if Brent were cut. I suspect there are, because I don't otherwise see the reason for the team to stick by him at this point. The guy's obviously got some problems, and the fact that the team is not addressing the issue publicly is pretty telling. They've been quick to get rid of injured or troubled players in other scenarios.

The ending here is, hopefully, the guy getting the help he needs and pays his dues. He's parked on the reserve non-football injury list right now, and I believe that effectively ended his season last season and allows the team the option of not paying his salary if they choose to do so. It remains to be seen what they'll do with him for the 2013 league year. I imagine they'll keep him on salary, get him help and keep him around the support group of the team, wait to see what the courts and the league have to say in their rulings, and then make a decision. Either way, I'm proud to see them stick by a troubled player. It speaks well for the organization and is the best shot Brent's got at rehabilitation. That's obviously the best possible outcome in a case like this if the team is willing to go to the trouble.

 

[03EBZ06]

Dallas DA: Brent's failed drug tests unsurprising

DALLAS (AP) -- The Dallas County district attorney says he's not surprised that Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent failed two drug tests while out on bond facing an intoxication manslaughter charge.

Brent was charged after a December car crash that killed practice squad player Jerry Brown. Court records show his bond was revoked after he tested positive twice for marijuana.

District Attorney Craig Watkins told KRLD-FM last week that it's clear to him that Brent is struggling with addiction. Watkins says that Brent ''still uses alcohol and illicit drugs,'' and he wants him jailed for the crash.

For the rest ---> http://sports.yahoo.com/news/dallas-da-brents-failed-drug-210725401--nfl.html

 

[mugsybows]

Didnt see this mentioned anywhere but Brent released from Jail this morning due to a court order . The story is on espn.com

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

Why are we keeping him?

What reasoning is Jerry using?

 

[tantrix1969]

Didnt see this mentioned anywhere but Brent released from Jail this morning due to a court order . The story is on espn.com

nice to see he's not getting any preferential treatment

 

[Idgit]

Why are we keeping him?

What reasoning is Jerry using?

If only there were, say, 133 other posts on this topic someplace....

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Why are we keeping him?

What reasoning is Jerry using?

Because his teammates are close to him and he likes to take care of his employees. The only people that are getting upset are not hurt by it. Those who are/were harmed support Jones decision.
I get that this is the age of writing things off and giving up at least on the interwebs but not all are like that.

To err is human. To forgive is divine.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

Because his teammates are close to him and he likes to take care of his employees. The only people that are getting upset are not hurt by it. Those who are/were harmed support Jones decision.
I get that this is the age of writing things off and giving up at least on the interwebs but not all are like that.

To err is human. To forgive is divine.

that means if the patriots were ran correctly, they would keep hernandez until the very end.

 

[jobberone]

Please don't start with the personal attacks.

 

[Idgit]

that means if the patriots were ran correctly, they would keep hernandez until the very end.

His teammates don't love him and that organization has no reputation for taking care of employees. Plus, we're talking triple homicide there, so, I don't think you have a very good point.