MLB partners with Charlotte’s Web, the first CBD sponsorship with a major pro sports league
When you think that you have seen professional sports’ furthest reaches of hypocrisy, Major League Baseball looks you in the eyes and says “hold my beer”
The Cincinnati Reds have done deal with BetMGM to open a new sportsbook at their Great American Ball Park. The agreement designates the company as the Reds’ official sports betting partner, converting at a single fell swoop the entire Pete Rose scandal into nothing more than a punchline.
And if that were an outlier, the argument could be made that all is not as it seems, that in fact Major League Baseball’s condemnation of the all-time base hit leader is still, somehow, justified. But no. Like a petulant teenager, the league simply smirks and one-ups itself.
In a sport that makes the use of drugs illegal, and vigorously enforces this ban, the news that they have now inked a partnership with Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc., the makers and purveyors of CBD products, raises more than a few eyebrows.
Until 2019, marijuana was on the MLB’s list of banned substances, and even after the removal from the list, the league announced that while players would not be punished for using cannabis while they aren’t working, they can not be personally sponsored by a marijuana company or hold investments in the industry.
MLB’s relationship with drugs, both illegal and legal, is highly controversial, where they have been roundly criticised for promoting vicariously the use of chewing tobacco, contributing to generations of young boys taking up the use of the product despite its well-known health risks.
The league has been roundly criticised for turning a blind eye to the use of performance enhancing drugs, many of which can legally be ingested in any number of vitamin supplements, before suddenly doing an about-face in the early 21st century.
Barry Bonds has been denied entry into the hall of fame, despite hitting more home runs than anyone else in history, based almost entirely on his use of PEDs during his career.
Noah Garden, MLB’s Chief Revenue Officer was quick to try and point out the medicinal use of CBD products, saying, “As a leader in the CBD category, with products that provide health and wellness benefits, Charlotte’s Web is a welcome addition to the MLB family, representing a landmark partnership in baseball and sports.”
Placing CBD on a par with aspirin, he extols Charlotte’s Web further, “We are excited about the possibilities this partnership offers as CBD becomes a more widely adopted part of the health and wellness regimen of our players and fans.”
Before, you could disagree with baseball’s stance on gambling or cannabis, but you could argue that they were at least consistent. Now, in both of these cases and many others besides, the protective mantle of consistency has been ripped away, leaving a hypocritical league grabbing for all the cash that they can get ahold of.