Kevin Durant has built a business empire outside of basketball, and cannabis has been one of his focuses. And he made it known that he was one of key voices that pushed the NBA to change its stance on cannabis.
The 13-time NBA All-Star spoke at CNBC’s Game Plan Conference on Tuesday, July 25, in partnership with Durant’s media company Boardroom, and admitted that he pushed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to change the league’s cannabis restrictions.
“I actually called [Silver] and advocated for him to take marijuana off the banned substance list,” Durant said.
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Durant, who through his company 35 Ventures is a sponsor of cannabis company Weedmaps, said he told Silver that cannabis doesn’t have negative effects and that the universal stigma towards cannabis is also a lot less than in the past, and the Phoenix Suns star said Silver agreed.
“He smelled it when I walked in,” Durant joked. “I didn’t really have to stay much, he kind of understood where this was going.”
The NBA officially allowed marijuana use for its players in its latest collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association signed in late June, according to Shams Charania.
The league had stopped testing players for marijuana use during the 2019-2020 season when it resumed play in a bubble in Orlando due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It continued that practice for the following seasons before finally unbanning marijuana in the CBA that is signed for the next seven seasons.
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The NBA had suspended players for marijuana use in the past, including former Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders in 2014 and 2015 for two separate violations.
