Torrey Smith is giving new meaning to the term “political football.” (Yeah, I said it.)
Smith, the Ravens’ wideout who bumps up to No. 1 on the depth chart with the trade of Anquan Boldin, has swapped football for politics this month, serving as a Congressional intern.
Via the Ravens’ official website, Smith is helping U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland. Coincidentally, Cummings has been pushing the NFLPA to agree to the implementation of HGH testing, threatening in January to call players to testify before the committee Cummings chairs with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Cal.).
Smith explained that he’s “the office guy,” filing documents and reading letters and doing other administrative tasks. He said that his objective was simple -- to expand his horizons and make the most of his time.
“It’s about seeing what’s out there,” Smith said. “As an athlete I feel like I always said, ‘Man, I can’t wait ‘til I can just play football and I don’t have to worry about school.’ Now that all we do is work out and you have the rest of the day, I feel like I’m limiting myself if I don’t do anything else.”
He’s right. With a reduced offseason workload under the new CBA, more players should spend their down time exploring other industries and workplaces, so that when the time comes to make a fairly significant career transition, they’ll be ready.
Still, the NFLPA may be more than a little nervous about the conversations that Smith and Cummings may have regarding what players want (and what they know) when it comes to the use of and testing for HGH.