Former Dallas Cowboy and Chicago Bear wide receiver Sam Hurd told a judge, “I do not have the IQ of a drug dealer,” before being sentenced yesterday to 15 years for conspiring to sell large quantities of marijuana and cocaine.
Hurd has been in the news lately for comments he made to a reporter about rampant marijuana use in the NFL. He estimates that at least half of the league's players smoke pot during the season and that 20 to 25 of his Dallas teammates shared his fondness for marijuana.
While he played for the Cowboys, Hurd made frequent runs to California to cop dope dank. “Whatever was considered the loudest weed in California - I wanted a notch above that,” he explained from jail in Seagoville, Texas. “I had educated myself on different strains and potencies and growing techniques. I was very selective. It was like wine.”
Hurd’s favorites strains were Louis XIII (a.k.a. Louie), which helped him “practice better and study film better," and Mr. Nice Guy. He was able to avoid getting busted by a drug test by knowing when the tests were scheduled to happen.
Hurd claims he smoked “all day, every day, and I didn’t want to hear anyone trying to tell me I had a problem."
But in court Hurd told the judge prior to his sentencing that he was dependent on pot. “Everything I’ve done in relation to this case is a direct result of my marijuana addiction and would get me and lead me to more marijuana,” he contended.
His lawyer, Mike McCrum, asked for a mandatory 10-year sentence. The prosecutor, assistant U.S. Attorney John Kull, wanted life. Judge Jorge Solis gave him 15.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Hurd attended Northern Illinois University but was not drafted. The Cowboys's signed him in 2006. By 2009, he was relegated to special teams duty. In 2011, Hurd signed with the Bears, but by December the law caught up to him when he was arrested.
