Retired NFL legend, Mike James has joined the Lion Order movement and is using his platform to provide a ripple of change across the athletic community.
Mike James started his pursuit for the NFL at the University of Miami. With a fearless attitude, hunger to succeed and ferocious appetite to be the best, Mike was destined for greatness. Following his college career, Mike James was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later retired with the Detroit Lions. After retiring, Mike connected with Rohan Marley, Bob Marley’s son, to learn about the Lion Order mantra and teachings of the Marley mindset.
Photographers : Julian R | Lily Heredia
Mike James joined Jay Morzaria of Sports Cannabis to talk about his movement and all things Lion Order.
Jay Morzaria :
You’ve joined Rohan Marley’s Lion Order movement and today are pushing for education, reform, and change. Before we take a deep dive into the Lion Order Movement, let’s chat about football. What was it about football that ultimately made you fall in love with the sport?
Mike James :
“I started playing football at a very young age. I grew up in a lower income area where sports could be an opportunity to take care of your family. For me, I fell in love with the game young. I was always an active kid and it gave me a lot to do. I enjoyed the violent part of the game; I loved every aspect of it. The game was always a safe place for me. It was in highschool and college that things started coming around and I saw an opportunity to be able to put my family in a better position… So I went to the University of Miami… AND I MADE A CAREER OUT OF IT…“
JM :
For most elite football athletes, the seasons are long, training is taxing, demanding and there’s a constant influx of new injuries. Did you ever use cannabis for recovery and relief?
MJ :
“WHEN I GOT INTO CANNABIS, IT WAS ALWAYS FROM THE MEDICAL STANDPOINT. It changed my life tremendously with helping me with my dependency on opioids. Cannabis and a therapeutic Wellness Program were vital for my recovery. It put me in a position that allowed me to play the game at high level, they way it should be played at. I was getting compensated to be able to perform. I needed the right medicine and right therapy programs put in place for me to be able to do it.“
JM :
When did you ultimately discover cannabis?
MJ :
“Going into my second year, I was then having a dependency on Opioids. It was destroying my health and had the potential to destroy my career. The ah-ha cannabis moment was seeing the way my body was reacting, I couldn’t move and think on the field the way I was trained to. I wanted to be able to do my job. Unfortunately, the medicine I was on was hindering my ability to perform. That’s when I ultimately realized I needed to do something different for myself, and put myself in a better position to be able to operate. From then on cannabis and therapeutic wellness program was what I did.“
JM :
Have you ever faced any negative repercussions for taking this stand, or pushing the stance that CBD could provide a healthy holistic modality?
MJ :
“Not from the public. The public has always been accepting of my stance. I did “CNN’s: Weed 4 with Dr. Sanjay Gupta”, where I sat down and spoke with him for a lengthy conversation in an interview, which hit the waves! I realized there were so many people that were struggling, like myself…. The public received it well, however, when it came down to my job, that was a different story. We had a lot of lengthy discussions, a lot of push back and forth. A lot of research was presented, trying to get this medicine allowed for so many players that needed it… I’m thankful for the push and that I and so many others made to get it recognized within sports leagues and work places around the country.“
JM :
Shifting the Sports Cannabis conversation is important and voices like yours, we’re able to collectively break the stigma. What does normalizing the Sports Cannabis conversation look like to you?
MJ :
“It requires the media to be able to portray the message in the proper way. We have so much propaganda that has stigmatized this plant. It takes doctors and researchers to continue to inform the public. We need everyone to understand that this is a medicine that can help. It takes athletes like myself, retired, former and current, to continue to educate and speak on their experiences ; this medicine is powerful and will continue to save lives...”
JM :
Today, you’ve joined the Rohan Marley and the Lion Order movement. How did you and Rohan connect?
MJ :
“Rohan was born into this culture. Lion Order is roots luxury not only the brand but the movement in itself. We connected because Lion Order is the same movement that I was on as a player; the acceptance of this plant and the holistic approach that comes with it. Joining Lion Order gives me the opportunity to stay on that mission internationally and not only in sports.“
JM :
Talk to us about the Lion Order Movement and Mission.
MJ :
“Lion Order is something that Rohan has been practicing his whole life and it has passed down for generations. Now he’s giving our team and the world the opportunity to join this movement. We all want to be a part of something special in our lives. Why not that be liberation in the structure of LION ORDER. As humans we have a duty to one another to do our best to preserve human life. The mission is to not only do that but to help liberate those lives into freedom.“
JM :
Today, you’re a part of Lion Order, with Rohan Marley. What does that mean to you, and what are you most excited for 2022 with Lion Order?
MJ :
“I’m humbled, and honored to be a part of Lion Order, and to have the position and platform to give help and change lives. This year I’m looking forward to getting the brand out as well as sharing the meaning of what roots, luxury and Caribbean Culture is about. We really want to be able to give art, plants and life a chance to take the world by storm… All I can say is make sure you shop in Detroit to pick up that Lion Order.“
JM :
You’ve achieved a lot in 2021, and the sports cannabis conversation is slowly evolving. What do you believe the key focus should be for 2022?
MJ :
“The key movement right now is to try and get a wellness program implemented in each sports league. Where cannabis is not just an open thing for guys to use, but, they can now go to doctors, they can go to the team trainers, and, maybe not prescribe the Ibuprofen, the Toradol, the Vicodin, the Percocet, Hydrocodone, but be able to prescribe Cannabis instead. Now this is being offered in legal states to players. The doctors have the opportunity to prescribe this now, and there’s a wellness program not only with cannabis, but cognitive behavioral and physical therapy within leagues. I think that the next step is getting some kind of a wellness program, educational wellness program, implemented within the league for doctors, players, coaches, trainers, owners, so on and so forth… Even fans deserve to know, and understand what their favorite players are being asked to do from a medical standpoint just to be able to entertain. I think it is vital because we have so many young kids, and so many parents looking up to these players to try to put their children in a position to be professional athletes… We want to make sure we’re starting off from the jump the right way, and teaching a wellness program.“
JM :
There’s a lot of individuals out there that followed your career, and are following in your footsteps today. What advice can you share with them?
MJ :
“I would say, right before I broke out as a player, and I have to credit this quote to coach Greg Schiano, he’s the head coach at Rutgers Football right now, in New Jersey. He drafted me in Tampa my rookie year, and right before the season got rolling again, he told all the rookies, and it’s something that has stuck with me for the rest of my life… He said, “You never sacrifice the things you want in life, what you really want, for what you want right now”… And that stuck with me, that really paid dividends in my life, because I began to just stay on that narrative, never sacrificing what I really wanted in my life for what I wanted right now… & that’s one piece of advice I can give to anybody… you know, in the NFL, I knew how important my life was, I knew how important reality and living after this was going to be…but I also knew how much I wanted to be a Hall of Famer… So I couldn’t sacrifice what I really wanted, a healthy life for what I wanted right then, which was $100 million in a hall of fame career. So that’s something that I as a professional athlete had to come to terms with and face that question every day in my life, as a father, husband. Never sacrificing the things that I want, right now for the things that I really want in my life.“
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