A new Salem witch hunt??

jlmarta

An item in the news this morning:

High school lacrosse players kicked off team after smoking cigars at graduation ceremony, report says

CLICK HERE

Seems a bit high-handed to me. Maybe the players should be burnt at the stake...... (Jk)

90+ Irishman

Aaaaaand once again society goes so far out into the deep end that they may as well be on the fvcking sea floor. Yeah THIS makes perfect sense, wow!

Echambers

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I think what they did was harmless; on the other hand (regardless whether the rule makes sense) they broke the schools athletic code. What if they had been photographed toasting with champagne? Would you feel the same? (and for. What it's worth, most schools define tabacco as a drug for the purpose of their drug free policies).

90+ Irishman

Echambers:

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I think what they did was harmless; on the other hand (regardless whether the rule makes sense) they broke the schools athletic code. What if they had been photographed toasting with champagne? Would you feel the same? (and for. What it's worth, most schools define tabacco as a drug for the purpose of their drug free policies).

That's a fair point Eric and I would feel differently if it were alcohol one because it's a drug and alcohol policy as well as the fact that they are underage. But and here is the but, I agree with the Dad, this was in no way in my mind in line with the spirit of the policy.

perkinke

The other thing that isn't mentioned was whether this is their first violation of team/league rules. Given that it sounds like it was AT the grad ceremony it was also a poor decision as most public venues now have strict no tobacco rules. If it was at the actual ceremony it was also a very blatant violation of policy, how could the administration NOT react and also maintain credibility?

On the one hand it may be a little harsh, but on the other it's a good object lesson that 1) rules aren't always fair but sometimes you have to just obey, 2) if you don't think they're fair and choose to violate them for some reason you have to be willing and ready to accept the consequences. The second piece is something lacking in our culture today, we crow endlessly about our "rights" but seldom want to accept the responsibility those rights confer as well.

jd50ae

Yea. Rules is rules. But gee whiz.....spank them harshly and let them play the game.

Beaker38

I can see where the rules were broken by the students but the rule it self is broken. I used to play lacrosse and there were no such rules and i live in New York where there is a strict law on pretty much everything but come on kicking them off before the championships, that is just crazy. I would not consider cigars drugs. These kids just graduated from high school they should make an exception or in the rules for the future.

YankeeMan

I'm sorry. I didn't see this post before I put a similar one on the Non-cigar related forum. I'm glad to see others are outraged also. I guess I'm missing the part about cigars being drugs.

Darktower007

If the kid is 18 he can do it. If it's on school grounds and you get caught, getting kicked off the team is a bit harsh!

The3Stogies

Double thread going on this: Seems kind of tame for a graduation prank, have we become that stiff? Admonish them maybe, but to ban them from playing seems excessive. What did the school do to the other students smoking cigars that weren't on the team?

catfishbluezz

The owner of Nomad is trying to find them on FB to give them free cigars lol

0patience

It's one of those deals where they are being "made an example of".
It would be one thing if they were caught smoking cigarettes on campus, but a celebratory cigar is a one time thing.

When I was in high school, our entire baseball team got caught with copenhagen in our gym lockers. Even though they were in our clothes, we all lost our baseball season that year.

Athletic departments have always been over bearing and extrem

Echambers

YankeeMan:

I'm sorry. I didn't see this post before I put a similar one on the Non-cigar related forum. I'm glad to see others are outraged also. I guess I'm missing the part about cigars being drugs.

My point is, whether we agree or not, that most schools consider tobacco a drug. I'm this sense smoking is a violation of school policy and the athletic code. Don't get me wrong--I think it is silly--but it is a rule that they agreed to when they joined the team. The outrage should not be about the kids getting booted--they broke the rules and got punished. The core issue is something very different.

Ken Light

Echambers:

YankeeMan:

I'm sorry. I didn't see this post before I put a similar one on the Non-cigar related forum. I'm glad to see others are outraged also. I guess I'm missing the part about cigars being drugs.

My point is, whether we agree or not, that most schools consider tobacco a drug. I'm this sense smoking is a violation of school policy and the athletic code. Don't get me wrong--I think it is silly--but it is a rule that they agreed to when they joined the team. The outrage should not be about the kids getting booted--they broke the rules and got punished. The core issue is something very different.

It's not what's "considered" a drug, cigars contain nicotine which IS a drug, period, and one under strict regulatory control by the government. Also one under strict control by school boards to implement in exactly these cases when the student is 18 and therefore the case falls out of legal territory. Like has been said already, they broke the rules and got punished. That's the end of the story from a tobacco-related angle. It's not allowed, and probably shouldn't be, in schools. Was the punishment too harsh? Maybe, but I don't much care about this school's policy enough to devote much thought to it.

On a larger issue: we partake in something regulated. If you smoke, drink, gamble, own firearms (or do anything else fun), you're part of the same club. People in this club need to generally adhere and support reasonable regulations. If you try to fight reasonable regulations, you force those in power to a decision between deregulation and ban, and you'll always see them move towards ban. I think no smoking in high school is a reasonable regulation, whether you're 18 or not.

Smart people who enjoy drinking, gambling, and firearms generally support their reasonable regulations and we need to do the same as smokers. These kids did something wrong. They should not be given free cigars or any other support/recognition for breaking the rules. As I said before, perhaps (and maybe probably) their punishment was too stern, but I believe it is detrimental for the tobacco industry to try and balance that out with positive reinforcement.