David Irving announced earlier this month he was quitting football after the NFL suspended him indefinitely. The defensive lineman said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett had advised him to quit so Irving could “smoke all the weed” he wanted.
Garrett commented on Irving’s assertion for the first time Tuesday.
“Yeah, I don’t want. . . .,” Garrett said. “David and I have had a lot of conversations, like you do with a lot of the players on your team, so I don’t want to get into too many conversations. But to that particular point, the only thing I would say is there are some rules and parameters you have in the NFL if you want to play and you have to follow those rules, independent of what your opinions are on any particular topic, you have to stay within the confine of the rules or they’re not going to let you play. So something so important to you to break those rules and that prevents you from playing, you’re making a decision about what you value most. I was just trying to indicate to him if you want to play in the NFL, these are the rules. These are the parameters you have to follow. Hopefully, he understands that.”
Irving’s love for the game long has been in question. For instance, he was not a regular participant in his rehab after spraining his ankle in an Oct. 21 game against Washington, and despite remaining on the roster, he didn’t play again.
Irving said he does not smoke marijuana because he wants to, but because he believes he needs it for health reasons. He now is a suspended free agent with no hope of being signed until — if? — he earns reinstatement.