Josh Gordon in Stage 3 of substance-abuse program
By Cory Buck
Josh Gordon is still waiting to hear his exact punishment for his latest infraction, both of which have been murky to this point. Adding to the confusion now is this latest interview by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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According to Cabot, Josh Gordon was already in Stage 3 of the NFL’s substance abuse program — the highest stage — at the time of his latest violation. Not only is Gordon already in this stage for the rest of his career, but he’s almost certainly facing a year-long suspension unless some details emerge in his favor.
What makes this whole situation tough to judge is the lack of information provided since the news originally broke about Gordon’s pending suspension shortly before the NFL draft.
We don’t know what Gordon did or didn’t do, but now we know that his status in the NFL was murky at best to begin with. The thin ice has broken beneath him and the only hope for Browns fans to see #12 on the field again is that this was all one big, horrible misunderstanding.
Though if it is a misunderstanding, it would explain the delay in announcement by the NFL. They typically just go with an indefinite suspension on these matters a la Justin Blackmon, yet they’ve done no such thing with Gordon. You can’t help but wonder if there’s a small battle between Gordon’s lawyers and the NFL guys over something yet to be explained.
The appeals process will hopefully clear some of this up so the Browns can learn how many games they’ll play without Josh Gordon in 2014.