Bills’ Seantrel Henderson suspended for using marijuana to treat Crohn’s disease
Seantrel Henderson tested positive for marijuana and received a four-game suspension, but he has a pretty good reason to appeal.
Buffalo Bills offensive tackle, Seantrel Henderson learned at the end of last season that he had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. One of the best known pain-relievers for Crohn’s disease is marijuana, a substance which is banned by the NFL.
Henderson recently found out that he has been suspended for the first four games of the NFL season for testing positive for marijuana, something he was apparently using to treat his condition:
Bills' OT Seantrel Henderson's pending substance-abuse suspension is related to a treatment he received for his Crohn's disease.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2016
Henderson is appealing the suspension and it seems that he has a pretty good case to be made.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Crohn’s disease causes inflammation in the lining of your digestive tract. It leads to abdominal pain, fatigue, malnutrition and weight loss, among other things. Weight is important at every position in the NFL, but a skinny offensive tackle will have absolutely no chance in the league.
Henderson just recently returned to practice after months of battling the disease. “I went through a lot during the offseason as far as just complications with my stomach, things I’ve never been through before,” Henderson recently told Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. “So just being back out here, with the guys, with the team, being able to do everything everybody else gets to do, is just a blessing.”
The offensive tackle has undergone multiple surgeries to get back to the practice field, including a procedure to reattach his intestines.
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It’s important that the NFL get this one right in the wake of everything that has gone on with the Tom Brady fiasco. Players still have to abide by league rules, one of which bans the use of marijuana, but certain exceptions should be considered. This is far from a situation like Josh Gordon, who has failed multiple drug tests without a single excuse.
Henderson deserves to have his sentence, at the very least, reduced. Hopefully commissioner Roger Goodell can exercise some common sense with this one.