One day after it was reported that the NFL banned ammonia inhalants, the league clarified that while teams can no longer supply them, players can supply their own.
When is AI not artificial intelligence? When it refers to ammonia inhalants, aka smelling salts.
When are these AIs in the news? When it was reported that the NFL banned their use, San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle protested, and the NFL walked back the ban a day later. The league’s players association clarified that players can still use AIs as long as teams don’t provide them.
Got it?
The NFLPA sent a memo to players on Wednesday saying that the ban only prohibits team employees from distributing AIs during games.
That must have pleased Kittle, who when under the impression that AIs were banned completely, grabbed a microphone on an NFL Network broadcast to say, “I honestly just came up here to air a grievance. Our team got a memo today that smelling salts and ammonia packets were made illegal in the NFL, and I’ve been distraught all day.”
The five-time All-Pro tight end said he used the substances for an energy boost before every offensive drive and joked that upon learning of the ban he “considered retirement.
