On November 13^th former NFL wide receiver Sam Hurd was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a U.S. District Court Judge in Dallas federal court for his role in the trafficking of both marijuana and cocaine. The former wide receiver for both the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears received this sentence after a two and a half year battle with the U.S. attorney’s office and ICE agents.

Hurd, the Northern Illinois graduate drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, had large shipments of marijuana sent to him from a grower in California for most of his NFL career, while also getting involved with a Mexican Cartel in the movement and distribution of cocaine.

Hurd admitted to giving marijuana to as many as 25 other members of the Dallas Cowboys. While Hurd was not making a profit off these players, he was providing them with marijuana for most of his five year stay with the Cowboys. “At least half” of the NFL uses marijuana in some way during the season according to Hurd’s “conservative estimate”.

By NFL bylaws, all players are tested for recreational drugs once a year, sometime in a 16-week period between April 20^th and August 9^th. If a player tests positive in that test, he is eligible to be tested at random after that. If he is clean, he can do recreational drugs, like marijuana, without fear of the league as long as he doesn’t exhibit any aberrant behavior or get caught publicly.

“A lot of players suggest that marijuana is one way to heal their bodies and help them become more like the people we’re surrounded by in public life every day. It’s just a starkly different world than you and I live in.” said Michael McKnight, a Sports Illustrated writer who followed the Sam Hurd case closely.

Where Sam Hurd separated himself from the countless other weed smokers in the NFL was his involvement in the trafficking of cocaine. Hurd actually was involved with one of Mexico’s most dangerous cartels, the Zetas- a group which is infamous for beheading its enemies and dumping their bodies on public streets. Hurd’s longtime friend Toby Lujan, who owed Hurd up to as much as $90,000, allowed Hurd an in to the cartel. Hurd actually met with members of the Cartel at a Dallas Steakhouse where he was given a kilo of cocaine hidden in a gift bag.

“Sentence me for what I did. Moving weed and getting caught up in this stupid cocaine thing with Toby- I am ready and eager to be sentenced fairly for those things. They have hurt my family and they will continue to hurt us,” said Hurd.