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If the New York Giants sign free agent offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, they will have to deal with his outspoken campaign for the NFL to legalize medical marijuana. Monroe has made it clear he isn't backing off.
— Eugene Monroe (@MrEugeneMonroe) June 16, 2016
It is a good thing, then, that Giants coach Ben McAdoo said Thursday that he would have no problem coaching a player who expressed such an opinion.
"I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion. 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," McAdoo said. "But every player, every coach, every person with two feet running around has their own opinion and is entitled to it."
The Ravens mentioned Monroe's medical marijuana stance in their announcement of his release, even though coach John Harbaugh denied it had anything to do with letting the veteran offensive tackle go.
"Football circumstances change, from the end of the season to now," Harbaugh said. "Football circumstances. One hundred percent football circumstances. That's it. That's all it ever was. It's no reflection on Eugene Monroe in any way. It just has to do with the circumstances with the Ravens and that position."
Back to McAdoo, the coach was also prodded Thursday about whether or not he would move Ereck Flowers to the right side if a seemingly better left tackle option came along. He didn't bite.
"That's a hypothetical on a hypothetical, correct? I'd rather not deal in hypotheticals — especially when there are two of them in the same answer — but Ereck is working hard to develop into a standout left tackle for us," McAdoo said. "We feel he's making progress, and he had a good offseason."
NOTE: Let's please not turn any Monroe discussion into a debate about whether or not marijuana should be legalized in this country. If you want to discuss Monroe's stance or express a view on whether the league allow what he wants, fine. But, let's not go further than that. Save the politics for somewhere else.