Earlier this month, Rob Gronkowski hinted that on Aug. 27, he would announce something big. The day came, and the announcement was made, to the sadness of some Patriots fans who wanted a comeback from him. He is now a CBD advocate and will develop his own health and wellness line.
He did not completely rule out the possibility of coming out of retirement, however, he noted that he didn’t enjoy football anymore because of the amount of pain he was in.
“I want to be clear to my fans. I needed to recover. I was not in a good place. Football was bringing me down, and I didn’t like it. I was losing that joy in life,” Gronkowski said, holding back tears.
He will now advocate for the usage of CBD in the recovery of injuries in professional sports.
The usage of cannabidiol (CBD) is controversial in sports. This is mostly due to the fact that treatments using CBD are relatively untested compared to other methods. Many professional leagues don’t use CBD as a treatment because the research that shows it is a helpful tool in recovery is so new.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, CBD does not inherently cause a “high” as it is not even the main active ingredient in cannabis. Likewise, CBD is great for people who have issues falling asleep.
Gronkowski put that statement to life by explaining what happened after he injured his thigh in Super Bowl 53.
“I got done with the game and I could barely walk,” he said. “I slept five minutes that night. I couldn’t even think. I was in tears in my bed after a Super Bowl victory. It didn’t make that much sense to me. And then, for four weeks, I couldn’t even sleep for more than 20 minutes a night. I was like, ‘Damn, this sucks.’ It didn’t feel good.”
In both the NFL and the NBA, the use of CBD is banned. In the NHL, there are drug tests for cannabis, however, there is no punishment if these tests come up positive.
Specifically, in Gronkowski’s case, there would be no way he could come out of retirement while consistently using CBD. But as of now, it doesn’t seem like he wants to re-enter the NFL.
“When I feel like my body is top-notch, my soul, my mind, mentally and physically I’m ready then I will go back to the NFL—if I ever get to that point,” he said. “If I have that desire and I want to go back out there and I’m ready for it, then so be it.”
Jaclyn Galvin is a writer and Radio Personality for Prime Time Sports Talk and a sophomore at Emerson College in Boston, MA. You can connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @jaclyngalvin.
