JOSH GORDON REINSTATED

betterthanthealternative said:

This is all so mind-numbingly stupid.

Josh Gordon wins big in one genetic lottery (physical) and loses badly in another (brain chemistry). I suspect he'd rather they were reversed. He's operating in a society that shames mental health troubles and criminalizes self-medication with just about anything not developed by big pharma. His employer is about 30 years behind the science (when they aren't distorting science) and treats a performance-reducing drug similarly to performance-enhancing, body distorting drugs. He needs structure, routine, and the stress reduction of physical activity. But, no, let's cast him out of the tribe where he can get these things instead.

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This post should be put in a frame.

I used a lot more words attempting to communicate something you said far better. Well done!

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Kenneth Sims said:

Despite what they say, the Patriots are driving the timing of this. Gordon doesn’t need training camp or preseason games anymore than Julian Edelman or Rob Gronkowski do. It makes perfect sense that the Patriots would want to spare Gordon from the openness to the public and press you see in the early part of training camp.

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Great point - I never even thought of that.

They are off today.

Tomorrow they fly out and go to the Hall of Fame in Canton, OH for a private tour the day after Ty Law’s induction.

Then they spend the week in Michigan in joint practices with the Lions (ok, smartasses, no Gordon jokes here).

If asked, BB does his deadpan “We’re focused on the practices right now with the Lions and getting everything ready for the 1st ps game”.

Chances are they are aiming for official reinstatement in a week or two after they close the practices from the public.

If calculated, the timing is exceptionally smart.

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Just playing Devil's advocate (I am sincerely hoping he is reinstated immediately) but if you go by the NFL's warped way of thinking, they may look at it like JG is a multiple repeat offender with probably the most serious drug addiction problem the league has ever seen.
It has not even been a year since he was suspended indefinitely on December 20, 2018.
He has had suspensions and failure to be reinstated at least 5 previous times. I would honestly be surprised if he is reinstated before December.


He has had serious drug problems in the NFL eyes in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018.


1) On July 5, 2014, Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina.[23]

On August 27, 2014, Gordon acknowledged that the NFL suspended him for one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.[24] On September 19, 2014, his suspension was reduced to 10 games amidst the new NFL drug policy. Gordon was officially reinstated on November 17.[25]

2) Gordon was suspended for the entire 2015 season due to violating the league's substance abuse policy.[27][28] Gordon entered the NFL's substance abuse program after pleading guilty to a driving while impaired charge in September 2014 and was prohibited from consuming alcohol during his time in the program.[29] The suspension was for one year starting on February 3, 2015 and he was not eligible to return until the start of the 2016 season.[30]

3) On January 20, 2016, Gordon applied to the league for reinstatement.[31] His request was denied in March when it was reported that he had failed another drug test.

4) On September 29, 2016, Gordon left the Browns to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. He was one week away from reinstatement to the NFL, serving his previous sentence of four regular season games

5) On March 1, 2017, Gordon again applied to the league for reinstatement,[35] but was denied on May 11, 201

6) On September 9, 2018, playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gordon made a late-game reception for 17 yards and a touchdown resulting in a 21-21 tie following overtime.[40] The following week the Browns indicated that they would be parting ways with Gordon after he "violated the team's trust.
According to The Plain Dealer, the Browns feared that he was struggling to stay sober, and had done everything they believed they could do to keep him on the right path.[42]

7) On December 20, Gordon announced that he would step away from football to focus on his mental health. The NFL later stated that Gordon will be facing an indefinite ban for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement under the NFL drug policy.[3]

Worst case scenario, I’d be thrilled with a 6 game suspension. Best case, I’d love to see what Josh Gordon can do over a full season + playoffs.

I’d be extremely upset if he got a year suspension, that would be surprising though. I thought I remember reading a comment that Gordon had the NFL’s full support as far as rehabilitation.

Chevrolet said:

Just playing Devil's advocate (I am sincerely hoping he is reinstated immediately) but if you go by the NFL's warped way of thinking, they may look at it like JG is a multiple repeat offender with probbaly the most serious drug addiction problem the league has ever seen.
It has not even been a year since he was suspended indefinitely on December 20, 2018.
He has had suspensions and failure to be reinstated at least 5 previous times. I would honestly be surprised if he is reinstated before December.



1) On July 5, 2014, Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina.[23]

On August 27, 2014, Gordon acknowledged that the NFL suspended him for one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.[24] On September 19, 2014, his suspension was reduced to 10 games amidst the new NFL drug policy. Gordon was officially reinstated on November 17.[25]

2) Gordon was suspended for the entire 2015 season due to violating the league's substance abuse policy.[27][28] Gordon entered the NFL's substance abuse program after pleading guilty to a driving while impaired charge in September 2014 and was prohibited from consuming alcohol during his time in the program.[29] The suspension was for one year starting on February 3, 2015 and he was not eligible to return until the start of the 2016 season.[30]

3) On January 20, 2016, Gordon applied to the league for reinstatement.[31] His request was denied in March when it was reported that he had failed another drug test.

4) On September 29, 2016, Gordon left the Browns to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. He was one week away from reinstatement to the NFL, serving his previous sentence of four regular season games

5) On September 9, 2018, playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gordon made a late-game reception for 17 yards and a touchdown resulting in a 21-21 tie following overtime.[40] The following week the Browns indicated that they would be parting ways with Gordon after he "violated the team's trust.
According to The Plain Dealer, the Browns feared that he was struggling to stay sober, and had done everything they believed they could do to keep him on the right path.[42]

6) On December 20, Gordon announced that he would step away from football to focus on his mental health. The NFL later stated that Gordon will be facing an indefinite ban for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement under the NFL drug policy.[3]

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Sadly, I see your point there.

I’m hoping this time is different (for all the right reasons), but fully understand the cold hard facts you laid out there.

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Just off pure fact, Josh Gordon should NOT be reinstated into the league due to the multiple times he's violated league policy. HOWEVER, considering the recent Tyreek Hill fiasco, the league can't afford to continue to send the message that hurting yourself is worse than hurting others. By suspending Gordon for another season, or even 6 games, that's the message you send. Kareem Hunt's suspension should be a full season at the very least when looking at the suspensions Josh Gordon has been given in the past. I don't care about the background of the evidence. That was abuse against another human being.

Take out all these Hunt, Hill, etc. incidents, and the league could reason that Gordon deserves a 6+ game suspension. But after the debacle over the last year with all these incidents? You keep Gordon on the sidelines and there will be issues.

I do not think Hill's non suspension is relevant here

The key question is what is best for Josh? One could reasonably make an argument that putting him back in the pressure cooker that comes with being a starting wide receiver for the Patriots is setting him up to fail his rehab process yet again. He has already fallen off the wagon multiple times after being reinstated.

Is it really the best thing for Josh to be reinstated now. I do not know.
While I would love to see him come back, I worry its putting him in a suboptimal position in terms of his long term recovery.

Chevrolet said:

I do not think Hill's non suspension is relevant here

The key question is what is best for Josh? One could reasonably make an argument that putting him back in the pressure cooker that comes with being a starting wide receiver for the Patriots is setting him up to fail his rehab process yet again. He has already fallen off the wagon multiple times after being reinstated.

Is it really the best thing for Josh to be reinstated now. I do not know.
While I would love to see him come back, I worry its putting him in a suboptimal position in terms of his long term recovery.

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Nobody can answer that question.

betterthanthealternative said:

This is all so mind-numbingly stupid.

Josh Gordon wins big in one genetic lottery (physical) and loses badly in another (brain chemistry). I suspect he'd rather they were reversed. He's operating in a society that shames mental health troubles and criminalizes self-medication with just about anything not developed by big pharma. His employer is about 30 years behind the science (when they aren't distorting science) and treats a performance-reducing drug similarly to performance-enhancing, body distorting drugs. He needs structure, routine, and the stress reduction of physical activity. But, no, let's cast him out of the tribe where he can get these things instead.

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Amen. I hope for Gordon's sake that he's able to come back, stay sober, gain confidence and put his life back on track.

patchick said:

Amen. I hope for Gordon's sake that he's able to come back, stay sober, gain confidence and put his life back on track.

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^
This.
All kidding about the league aside most all of us have seen what substance abuse in combination with mental health issues can do to a life, whether it be a member of your own family, friend, coworker or one of their family members. I sincerely hope Gordon can defeat his demons.

patfanken said:

Bedard predicted he'd be back around 10 days into camp about 2 months ago. I had no idea why he said that. At the time I figured he'd be back at the start of TC since being in a structured environment seemed like the best place for him. Just common sense. I thought Bedard's prediction of 10 days into camp seemed so arbitrary. BUT.......

And if you think it would look bad for him to be out while Hill is on the field....you are RIGHT!

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June 19th:

There has been NO news coming out of Park Ave. concerning the possible reinstatement of Josh Gordon. Absolutely NOTHING!. But while I hate to speculate , seeing Gordon around the team so much this off season, you have to THINK that his return is going to be sooner rather than later and regardless of the league's potential punishment, he'll be there, in shape, for the start of TC.

This clip seems to confirm it. I think the Pats know something that we don't, otherwise Brady would be throwing balls to someone else. That doesn't mean there won't be a suspension of some kind, but he will eventually be on the field.

I'm starting to like the potential of our WR group.

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I remember you stating that he would be ready at the start of camp because Tom Brady was playing catch with him. The question I have now revolves around the fact that he has been a participant in a structured environment for many years and that has not been enough. I am not condemning Josh however his troubles started in middle school and they are complicated. We shall see. Nothing is certain even if he is trending in the right direction. Only time will tell.

A timeline of Josh Gordon's history with substance abuse and suspensions | Boston.com

betterthanthealternative said:

He needs structure, routine, and the stress reduction of physical activity. But, no, let's cast him out of the tribe where he can get these things instead.

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Too funny
Except for the fact that Gordon has a decade of this “structure , routine, and stress reduction” you wax so poetically about and still failed time after time...
Sure ... why not
Send him out into the coliseum for another go at it.....to reduce his stress.

(Still laughing)

Chevrolet said:

I do not think Hill's non suspension is relevant here

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It's relevant in the sense that it illustrates how completely nonsensical the league's approach to discipline is. There's no freaking rhyme or reason to any of it, which is what drives people crazy. If they actually laid out how things would be addressed, there would at least be a basis for analysis. The way it is now is just bananas.

That's where Hill comes into play. The league has a PERSONAL CONDUCT policy. His THREE YEAR OLD had "bruises and welts" on his body, child protective services removed the child from the house...but the league decided it wouldn't discipline Hill because they couldn't "prove" he did anything.

Meanwhile, they have the unmitigated gall to punish Tom Brady, the model of all you want an athlete to be and the league's shining freaking star for two decades. Proof? Nope. "More probable than not." "Generally aware."

So it's relevant just as a touchstone of how this league doesn't know what the hell it's doing.

Kenneth Sims said:

We should all read between the lines when Bedard or Mike Reiss report anything. Both have legit sources (Reiss with Belichick and Bedard with the Krafts) unlike most of the others out there.

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Agree 100%. I would add Tom Curran to that list. He has the most legit sources with the players, especially Brady and Gronk and their respective inner circles.

shmessy said:

It’s gonna be a REALLY bad look for Goodell if Tyreek Hill is out there freely practicing in TC and he holds back Josh after 10 months of intense rehabbing for a victimless crime (and it wasn’t even a crime).

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If that happens Goodell needs to be investigated by the FBI for collusion because it would be undeniably obvious at that point that he has an agenda and is not acting with any semblance of consistency or fairness.

TN patriot fan said:

If that happens Goodell needs to be investigated by the FBI for collusion because it would be undeniably obvious at that point that he has an agenda and is not acting with any semblance of consistency or fairness.

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It's already obvious.

borg said:

Now the NFL bureaucracy springs into action.
Prediction:
Five weeks to set the meeting
Three weeks to confer
Mid season holiday for Park Ave execs
2 week clarification period
Lost documents delay
Gordon takes a walk about
Duck boats cued

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Hopefully, the Massachusetts RMV protocols aren’t used by the nfl.

aluminum seats said:

It's relevant in the sense that it illustrates how completely nonsensical the league's approach to discipline. There's no freaking rhyme or reason to any of it, which is what drives people crazy. If they actually laid out how things would be addressed, there would at least be a basis for analysis. The way it is now is just bananas.

That's where Hill comes into play. The league has a PERSONAL CONDUCT policy. His THREE YEAR OLD had "bruises and welts" on his body, child protective services removed the child from the house...but the league decided it wouldn't discipline Hill because they couldn't "prove" he did anything.

Meanwhile, they have the unmitigated gall to punish Tom Brady, the model of all you want an athlete to be and the league's shining freaking star for two decades. Proof? Nope. "More probably than not." "Generally aware."

So it's relevant just as a touchstone of how this league doesn't know what the hell it's doing.

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The league has a PED policy that's different from its recreational drugs policy, that's different from its personal conduct policy, that's different from its cheating policy. That's not nonsensical. It's quite reasonable. I don't believe that recreational drugs should be of any concern to the NFL. I don't believe that personal conduct outside of official league functions should be of any concern to the NFL. But that's a CBA issue, and it's the fault of the players for allowing it.

And trying to argue for Gordon by bringing up Hill is foolish. It's like trying to argue that sentencing for grand theft is too harsh because some guy was found not guilty of tax evasion.

Well I hope hes healthy first and foremost. Then I hope he can stay that way

Deus Irae said:

The league has a PED policy that's different from its recreational drugs policy, that's different from its personal conduct policy, that's different from its cheating policy. That's not nonsensical. It's quite reasonable. I don't believe that recreational drugs should be of any concern to the NFL. I don't believe that personal conduct outside of official league functions should be of any concern to the NFL. But that's a CBA issue, and it's the fault of the players for allowing it.

And trying to argue for Gordon by bringing up Hill is foolish. It's like trying to argue that sentencing for grand theft is too harsh because some guy was found not guilty of tax evasion.

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Yeah, disagree. Of course there are different issues being addressed but it’s perfectly reasonable to look at the nature of decision making for one (supposed) infraction compared to how another is handled.