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Galaxy release statement on Josh Saunders

BY ADAM SERRANO

The Los Angeles Galaxy will be without the services of goalkeeper Josh Saunders "indefinitely" as the goalkeeper is in the league's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program according to a club release on Sunday.

Saunders has missed the Galaxy's last four matches and the club release follows a Los Angeles Times report earlier in the month that stated that Saunders would be in the league's substance abuse treatment program.

The club's official statement on the 31-year-old goalkeeper is as follows:

“Josh Saunders is currently in the league's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program and will remain unavailable for the club indefinitely. That program is administered by medical professionals appointed jointly by the league and the Players Union. Those medical professionals independently evaluate, treat, and determine the length of time that he will be in the program. The team does not control it.”

Comments

  1. Interesting how pot smokers so often need substance abuse treatment to get off the stuff. It is also interesting how much cognitive damage it does in the short term. Not brain damage, cognitive functioning damage. Legal or not, pot hurts athletic performance. I doubt if many Dutch players survive the rigors of their development program if they do pot.

    Not good for the player, not good for the league. Seems like quietly allowing players to go into a substance abuse program is a good solution by MLS. Certainly not laughable.

    That said the Galaxy are a mess right now. I’m not sure losing Saunders has much to do with it.

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  2. If its weed, its laughable tbh just like Josephs was. I wonder how the Eridivisie has continued to be such a good league with Marijuana being legal over there… lol, give me a break.

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  3. For example, a player struggling with a pill addiction vs. someone who’s an alcoholic vs. someone who’s just using steroids or a performance enhancer.

    Or someone like Shalrie.

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  4. Joseph got suspended for marijuana. It matters because it is ridiculous that the league and society at large treats a non-addictive, relatively benign substance as a banned/illegal narcotic in the same vein as heroin while other more lethal and dangerous drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are considered socially and legally acceptable. Much of the country, and MLS fans have made this distinction socially and would prefer that there was information about what he did before putting out a statement like this that’s going to get him judged, either fairly or not. It is a bit like saying “Saunders broke the law. He either killed puppies or got a speeding ticket.” Which one is it?

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