Browns WR Josh Gordon Addresses Critics

[Maverick 791]

Yeah, I don't see him playing another down in this league. Too much time for him from now until 2016 to screw up again.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

"As a strict condition to my reinstatement in Week 12, I had to agree not only to abstain from drinking for the rest of the season, but also to submit to an alcohol screen as part of my in-season drug testing under the league's substance-abuse protocol.

Did I think that was excessive given I had never had any issue whatsoever with alcohol? Yes," Gordon writes. "Did I think it was hypocritical that a professional league making hundreds of millions of dollars off beer sponsorships was telling me not to drink? Yes. Did I so much as blink at the condition? No."

Gordon says he drank two beers and two drinks on a plane to Las Vegas after the season ended, which were his first drinks since his July 4 DWI. But Gordon was still subject to testing.

"It doesn't matter if I thought that the league-imposed restriction on drinking had expired at the end of the regular season; what matters is that I didn't confirm whether or not that was the case. Now, that oversight has further jeopardized my relationship with my team and our fans, my reputation, and maybe even my career," Gordon writes.

 

 

We all know the guy isn't the brightest, so I am not going to repeat that. But, man.. That is pretty lame way to get suspended for an entire season.

 

He (Josh Gordon) wrote an amazing article about his struggles and works as an open letter to his critics. I highly suggest you all go read it if you have a spare moment.

 

https://medium.com/the-cauldron/an-open-letter-to-charles-barkley-co-cb5c4e64cf3

Edited January 29, 2015 by Favre4Ever

[theMileHighGuy 656]

I'll be one of the first to say that the league's alcohol policy is ridiculous. Matt Prater was in the program, and had 2 or 3 beers at a family barbecue in the summer, and had a test sprung on him not long after. He was suspended the first 4 games of last year, and we ended up cutting him. Now we have to carry two kickers because Barth, as good of a place kicker he's been, can't kick a touchback. McManus cost us a 7th round pick and he'll probably never kick another field goal for us.

 

I understand that people who get DWIs and such should be subject to punishment, but I think it's fairly clear that these guys aren't alcoholics, and the program should focus more on decision-making than the substance itself. Get these guys the Uber app, problem solved.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Wait wait. The regular season was over? He was done playing? He's got a valid argument on that one. The League told him he cant drink alcohol during the season. His season was over. How do they get to control what he does in the offseason?

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Lol at that "letter".

 

Josh Gordon has hard a hard life!

[BC 331]

He claims to have not smoked weed since before the Browns drafted him. If that's the case, then why did he test positive to get the first suspension?

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

He claims to have not smoked weed since before the Browns drafted him. If that's the case, then why did he test positive to get the first suspension?

He claims he inhaled 2nd hand smoke.... lol

[BwareDWare94 723]

Second hand is very possible. It's unfortunate if he's telling the truth.

 

The NFL needs to back the fuck off of this dude. It's time to start suspending players who actually commit heinous crimes and stop making examples out of guys who haven't hurt anybody. Clearly, the DUI arrest should be the only major smear on Josh Gordon's resume.

 

Let the dude play.

[BLUE 1,026]

Failing a drug test for pot from 2nd hand smoke is very unlikely, actually. Maybe if he sat in a car with some friends for a few hours who were smoking and they did a clam bake with the windows all the way up, lol.

[Sarge+ 3,436]

^ And even then, it would be out of your system in a few days, tops.

[AL_Royalty 489]

Eh, the last pot thing was pretty wack. They took two tests at the same time and one was just barely over while the other was just under, DUI's (just at the legal limit in the morning, most likely still in his system from the night before,) happen like ever week in the NFL, and this latest thing seems pretty weak too. If they said it the stipulation was a regular season stipulation and dinged him after the season ended, then a full year is just ridiculous.

 

I know the guy has made some mistakes, but so does he. Come on. The only difference between him and a lot of players is bad luck getting popped. I'm not saying that makes it right, but there's no reason for people to treat him like a pariah over this stuff.

 

Stephen A. Smith had a chance to be something more than an over-opinionated blow-hard, and instead he just stuck to his guns and continued to insult the kid. He proves he's an asshole at every possible chance to.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

"We spent a tremendous amount of time on Josh," Haslam said,per The Plain Dealer. "At a certain point in time an individual has to take care of themselves and do what's right -- not just for themselves ... but for the team, the coaches, the people in the building, the fans.

"Josh has failed to accept that responsibility. I hope he can get his life together, he's immensely gifted."

While it seems that Gordon's fate in Cleveland was sealed with his most recent suspension, theBrowns have zero need to make a decision on that future until after the suspension is over.

 

NFL.com

[Vin+ 3,121]

ESPN's Phil Sheridan reports the Browns once tried to trade Josh Gordon for Nick Foles.

The offer was made in 2013, a year after the Eagles drafted Foles in the third round. Gordon was a supplemental pick in 2012. Both players enjoyed tremendous seasons in 2013 but teetered out in 2014. Foles is still projected as the starter for Philadelphia in 2015 while Gordon faces a season-long suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Source: ESPN.com

Edited February 16, 2015 by Vin

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/story.asp?i=20150217213647301800408&ref=hea&tm=&src=

 

CLEVELAND (AP) Barred wide receiver Josh Gordon is fighting his one-game suspension by the Browns for the season finale because it will delay his free agency.

 

A person familiar with the process said the troubled former Pro Bowler is arguing he should not have been suspended for the last game in Baltimore.

 

The NFL Players Association filed the grievance last week on behalf of Gordon, the person told The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the union does not make such protests public. Gordon was suspended by the Browns after he missed a walk-through before the team's flight to Maryland.

 

Gordon was suspended for the first 10 games for multiple drug violations, and his banishment from the last game cost him a sixth game he needed for an accrued season. He can't become a restricted free agent until after 2016 and unrestricted until following the 2017 season.

 

Following last season, Browns coach Mike Pettine said Gordon had been guilty of "multiple violations" of team rules and warned that he could be suspended.

 

Gordon, who led the league in yards receiving in 2013, was recently suspended by the NFL for one season without pay for violating the drug policy. His latest expulsion came after he tested positive for drinking alcohol. Gordon was arrested in North Carolina in July and because he pleaded guilty, alcohol testing was included in his substance-abuse program under the league's new guidelines.

 

Gordon will have to apply for reinstatement with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell next year as long as he complies with his program and stays clean.

 

Last week, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said the team was disappointed by Gordon's actions.

 

"We spent a tremendous amount of time on Josh - everybody in the organization - and at a certain point in time, an individual has got to take care of themselves and do what's right, not just for themselves, but for the team, the coaches, the people in the building, the fans," Haslam said. "Josh has failed to accept that responsibility. I hope he can get his life together. He's immensely gifted.

 

"But he's obviously going to be away from football for a year, so he's not going to be in the building. So at least for a year, we've moved on from Josh. I wish him well. I hope he can get his act together because he's a very gifted athlete."

[FartWaffles 1,857]

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/8282/josh-gordon

 

Suspended Browns WR Josh Gordon is eligible to apply for reinstatement to the NFL on February 3, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot reports Gordon is doing "outstanding."

 

The news of Gordon "doing outstanding" probably comes from his agent, but it's nice to hear nonetheless. Gordon will turn 25 years old next April and still has a chance at a productive NFL future if he can keep his head on straight and start passing drug tests. As Gordon's $1.07 million base salary was "tolled" during his ban, he remains under the Browns' contractual control for 2016.

[oochymp 2,393]

Josh Gordon applies for reinstatement to NFL - NFL.com

Josh Gordon has taken a step toward a potential return to the football field.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports that the Cleveland Browns receiver officially applied for reinstatement, per a source informed of his situation.

ESPN's Tony Grossi first reported the news.

The application is merely a formality. Gordon was suspended on Feb. 3, 2015 for violating the league's policy on substances of abuse. The terms of the suspension allow the wideout to apply for reinstatement as early as 60 days prior to the one-year anniversary of the date of his ban.

The NFL has 60 days to act on the application.

 

The full article explains the reinstatement process if anyone is curious

[Barracuda 629]

I think it's pretty obvious Hue is going to be kicking Johnny out the door. Good on him.

 

It's a bit more complicated with Gordon. I just want to ask what is TGP's thoughts. If you were him would you start fresh and kick him out too or do you try again because the talent is so obviously there.

[Vin+ 3,121]

Assuming he gets reinstated, you keep him. Cutting him loose isn't going to help him, or you.

[BwareDWare94 723]

I think it's pretty obvious Hue is going to be kicking Johnny out the door. Good on him.

 

It's a bit more complicated with Gordon. I just want to ask what is TGP's thoughts. If you were him would you start fresh and kick him out too or do you try again because the talent is so obviously there.

 

Quite frankly, I find Gordon's transgressions rather lacking in severity, and think it's obnoxious that he is out of football at all. You keep this guy, but you have somebody tail him at this point. Make him go to meetings, make him continue to seek treatment. Whatever it takes.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

This isn't Jerry Jones. If you need to assign actual tails to people, you cut him loose. Naturally you provide the support he needs, but you have to trust in him to either have gotten help or that he will continue to get help when he needs. it.

[Bucman 891]

How many times can you let Josh Gordon let his team down? Its a difficult decision given his talent level. But I think its best to move on . You can't hope for a guy to change that has never give you reason to.

[oochymp 2,393]

 

Quite frankly, I find Gordon's transgressions rather lacking in severity, and think it's obnoxious that he is out of football at all. You keep this guy, but you have somebody tail him at this point. Make him go to meetings, make him continue to seek treatment. Whatever it takes.

It's death by a thousand paper cuts, no, none of the individual incidents are that bad (seriously, why is pot still illegal? alcohol is very much legal) but it comes down to consistently failing to follow directions. The league has told him repeatedly that if he continues to violate the drug policy (including the increased testing and other added conditions for repeat offenders) he will be suspended longer, he keeps violating the drug policy, so nobody should be surprised. Maybe he needs treatment, alcoholism and drug addiction are very real things, but I think he just needs to get his head out of his ass. Grabbing a beer on the flight home from a game (I think that was his story) isn't the act of an addict (at least not a hardcore addict, I realize addiction starts small) it's just somebody grabbing a beer and when it's somebody who's been explicitly told he can't drink it makes me think he just doesn't care.

[AL_Royalty 489]

Hey Browns fans. How do ya like watching TJ Ward match on top the super bowl? If you answered, "It's awesome," or, "it makes me feel alive," then yeah, I can see why you'd consider cutting ties with this kid.

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi expects the Browns to keep Josh Gordon once he's reinstated from his yearlong suspension.

Gordon's reinstatement announcement could come at any moment after he applied for it last month. By all accounts, Gordon has kept himself out of trouble in his time away. Gordon tweeted Sunday, "A fresh start," and bored fans went to see his "likes" on Twitter and flipped out after Gordon liked a number of tweets from people suggesting he join the Giants. The Browns own Gordon's contractual rights, and it's been suggested new coach Hue Jackson may be the man just to get the most out of the soon-to-be 25-year-old receiver.

Source: Tony Grossi on Twitter

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

Commissioner Roger Goodell said he's set aside some time to get an update on Josh Gordon's reinstatement effort in the "next week or so."

Goodell provided no update at the Owners Meetings on Wednesday, simply saying he'll talk with the NFL's staff working on Gordon's situation. This comes a couple days after an NFL spokesman shed no light on the issue, either. Gordon has seemed to stay out of trouble during his one-year suspension, but we really have no idea if he's adhered to the NFL's guidelines during his ban. We continue to wait with optimism that Gordon will be reinstated soon.

Source: Nate Ulrich on Twitter