Earlier this week, The BIG3 3-on-three basketball league announced ahead of their slate of week 2 matchups the legalization of Cannabidiol (medical marijuana) for pain management. This announcement is monumental in the world of sports for which the use of marijuana is still deemed a punishable offense throughout the major sports leagues. Stand out NFL receiver of the Cleveland Browns, Josh Gordon has been suspended for multiple NFL seasons due to his usage of marijuana as well as many others during the 2017 NFL Season. Just this past April, Deadspin posted an article detailing how NFL players were arguing with the league to allow the usage of marijuana as a painkiller. The BIG3 making this decision is not only a major highlight for a young league only in its second year but for the outlook of professional sports going forward as this might be the ammo that many Players Associations in professional sports leagues will need in each league’s respective Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
In a press release, BIG3 Co-Founder, and Co-CEO, Jeff Kwatinetz stated: “As a testament to our relationship with our players, we listened to their feedback on CBD, as well as feedback from professionals in the regulatory and CBD industry, and decided to take this major step to support their health.”
During the BIG3 second year of existence. they have lived up to their moniker of “changing the game”. Hall of Fame basketball player, Nancy Lieberman became the first ever female coach of a men’s professional sports team.
The BIG3 is a league that continues to innovate both on and off the court, and for a league that is progressive and willing to adapt to the current climate of reality, we can be assured that they will continue to apply pressure to the current sports climate and force them to adapt or die a slow a painful death.
Catch Week2 of BIG3 basketball LIVE on Fox at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.
