Free agent tackle Eugene Monroe made it clear that he will not back down from his stance that the NFL should allow its players to use medical marijuana. And the Giants, who hope to sign him, seem to have no problem with that.
Giants coach Ben McAdoo, speaking after the final practice of mini-camp, said he has absolutely no problem with any of his players — or potential players — expressing their opinions, even on controversial subjects. And while he declined to address the Giants’ interest in Monroe or his own feelings on medical marijuana, McAdoo indicated Monroe’s stance isn’t an issue for him at all.
“I think everyone’s entitled to their own opinion,” McAdoo said. “Myself, I haven’t done any research. I don’t have a great answer for you there.
That’s probably more of a political question, something that I’m not necessarily willing to jump into at this point — or ever. But every player, every coach, every person has their own opinion and is entitled to it.”
Monroe, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday, has been very vocal about his opinion that the NFL should legalize marijuana as an alternative to the pain medication often prescribed by team doctors. He has written essays on the subject on the Internet and been vocal about it on Twitter. He has also indicated that his stance is why the Ravens cut him with three years and $20 million left on his contract.
Still, on Thursday, he doubled down on his position anyway.
“One thing is for sure,” he tweeted. “I will never stop pushing for the League to accept medical cannabis as a viable option for pain management. I will do everything I can to ensure the generations of NFL players after me won’t have to resort to harmful and addictive opioids as their only option for pain management.”
The Giants, who briefly discussed trading for him before he was released, have expressed an interest in signing him. A source close to Monroe said he’s likely to take his time picking a new team, and that one potential pitfall with the Giants is they want him to play right tackle while he’d prefer to remain at left.
That same source indicated he did not believe Monroe’s stance on marijuana would be a big issue in his search for a new team — though Giants running back Rashad Jennings, a former teammate of Monroe’s from Jacksonville, could see how it might be.
“I mean, it could, yeah,” Jennings said. “We’re humans. Everybody has an opinion. Every single person up here with a mic has an opinion on anything that I’m saying, so it could be held against me. But that’s why you speak what’s true and authentic to you. And if he feels that he needed to say that at this time in his life and he felt it was going to garnish a type of response and changes, then go for it, man.
“It shouldn’t affect his game play, how he carries himself. (He’s a) great dude, stays out of trouble, clean guy, works really hard. So I hope no GM or organization will hold that against him for speaking his opinion.”
The Giants apparently won’t hold that stance against him. The biggest issue likely would be which side Monroe would be asked to play. The Giants have Ereck Flowers, last year’s ninth overall pick, at left tackle and don’t seem inclined to move him to the right side to make room for someone else.