Re: Re:
The Hitch said:
on3m@n@rmy said:
Re: Winston, Brady, etc. NFL needs to get their priorities in order of severity of offense. Winston's alleged offense of groping a woman Uber driver is far more egregious than deflating footballs. Or take Josh Gordon: out of the league for 2 years essentially for smoking a leaf. NFL does not appear to have a plan. They just hip shoot.
Im 100% against people being banned for Marijuana, but wasn't Gordon also banned because he was DUI?
Gordon has been banned 3 times by the NFL (codeine, marijuana, and alcohol, in that order. The first two suspensions were handed down before the DWI (I guess in 2014 in North Carolina it's a DWI instead of DUI). His DWI arrest came between his 2nd and 3rd suspensions - the 3rd suspension being specifically for alcohol. But the DWI may have been a factor in the decision by the league to suspend him the 3rd time. That's the short answer. Here's the long answer:
Gordon’s history with substance abuse (codeine, marijuana, & alcohol) is so extensive and goes back so far (to 3 failed drug tests for marijuana in college) that it is confusing, among other things. Below (#1 - #3) is a summary of the suspensions in Gordon’s NFL career:
#1 - 2013: 2 game suspension for failed drug test (codeine, from “cough syrup” according to Gordon).
#2 - May 10 2014: received 1-year ban for substance abuse (failed drug test for marijuana months prior to May 10). This is the suspension due to marijuana use that I referred to, which came before his DWI infraction.
http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/...cleveland-browns-faces-season-long-suspension [this link discusses suspension #1 and #2 above]
July 5 2014: DWI arrest in Raleigh, North Carolina.
July 24 2014: Gordon appeals the 1-year suspension handed down on May 10.
Aug 2014: Gordon loses his appeal as NFL upholds the 1-year suspension handed down on May 10.
#3 - Feb 2015: suspended 1-year for violating NFL substance abuse policy, this time for alcohol. This is the 3rd consecutive year Gordon was suspended for violating the substance abuse policy.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/12275102/nfl-suspends-josh-gordon-cleveland-browns-least-one-year
It got worse for Gordon before it got better:
- Jan 20 2016: applied for reinstatement but was denied when it was reported that he had failed another drug test.
- July 25 2016: reinstated, allowed to do training camp, but was suspended 4 games of the 2016 regular season.
- Sept 29, 2016, left the Browns to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility.
- Mar 1 2017: again applied for reinstatement, but was denied on May 11.
- Nov 1 2017: reinstated on a conditional basis, meaning he could return in week 13. After nearly 3 years being out of the NFL, Gordon returned in week 13.
- Dec 10 2017: vs Packers, Gordon scored his first touchdown since the 2013 season.
He could have learned from Chris Carter's experiences. Or he may have learned quicker had the team taken harsh action (like Philly head coach Buddy Ryan did with Carter) instead of the team staffers relying on the league to be the bad guy. To this day, Carter admits that being cut by Buddy Ryan was the best thing for him at the time, because it shocked him into awareness of his substance abuse problem and the consequences of continuing that lifestyle without getting treatment/help. And
that is the reason for the long answer.