In one of the weirdest stories of the week, professional skier John Spriggs of Oregon was arrested for assault after allegedly “assaulting two women and breaking items at their northwest Bend apartment, then kicking in the door of another apartment and awakening the sleeping residents, according to police.” Alcohol was suspected to have played a role in the incident.
Spriggs announced his “sponsorship of a lifetime” last month after he was picked up by Oregrown, an Oregon-based marijuana company that coveted the athlete’s skiing ability in both the backcountry and his past appearances in more mainstream events like the X Games.
Police arrived and learned Spriggs had actually been invited into the women’s apartment before being asked to leave for his inappropriate behavior. He then went manic, according to reports, breaking things in the apartment and forcing the women to lock themselves in a separate room. That’s when Spriggs moved onto the neighbor’s place.
Oregrown promptly dropped Spriggs from its lineup: “We are extremely troubled by these charges,” the company wrote in a statement. “Immediately upon learning the news, we canceled our sponsorship of John Spriggs. Oregrown expects all of our athletes to exhibit responsible and respectful behavior on and off the mountain at all times.”
Spriggs hyped the medicinal and meditative benefits of marijuana after the sponsorship was announced. “I would much rather use a cannabis product like CBD, for instance, than those prescription painkillers,” he said.
He probably should have used cannabis instead of alcohol, too.
