I think it’s fair to say that pain, and managing pain, is just part of a football players every day experience. It’s something a player just has to learn how to deal with. The entire culture of the sport kind of celebrates pain, right? “Play through the pain” “No pain no gain”. And my personal favorite: “Just Rub some dirt in it”.
But there’s a human toll to all that pain. We’ve all seen stories of former athletes laid low by the toll of the sport. Unfortunately, many of the stories have terrible endings often brought on by addiction to pain killers.
Former NFL great Marvin Washington knows these stories all too well. A Super Bowl winner in the 1990s with the Denver Broncos, Washington dealt with pain and treatment of that pain his entire career. He and his teammates tried every conceivable pain management technique: Tylenol, cold plunges, acupuncture and so on. And when those lost their effectiveness, they took opiates prescribed by team doctors.
It wasn’t until his playing days were over that he discovered that former teammates who smoked cannabis were far less reliant on opiates for dealing with pain than he was. After experimenting with cannabis for pain management, Washington became an outspoken advocate for medicinal cannabis use, even going so far as to sue the Attorney General and Department of Justice to decriminalize the drug.
In our conversation, Marvin shares insights on how players are introduced to powerful medications at a young age, and how that continues through college and the pros. We talk about his cannabis advocacy, the drugs neuroprotective properties that serve as an alternative to traditional painkillers, and his work with Leafwell, a telemedicine company aimed at normalizing cannabis in healthcare.
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved.
YOUR HOST
Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners.
FOLLOW US
Here's where you can find us:
- LinkedIn: adc-partners
- Instagram: adc_partners_podcast
- Threads: adc_partners_podcast
- Youtube: @adcpartners
- Homepage: adcpartners.com/podcast
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.