How Tedy Bruschi, Stephen A. Smith, and other national media reacted to Josh Gordon’s announcement
"I am sick and tired of this guy getting chances."
On Thursday, Patriots receiver Josh Gordon tweeted out a statement in which he explained that he was “stepping away from the football field for a bit to focus on my mental health.”
Shortly afterward, multiple reports indicated that Gordon was also facing another indefinite suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The Patriots shared a statement saying the team supports Gordon, and his right to privacy.
On ESPN, former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi was front and center on the network’s coverage of the Gordon news. At first, Bruschi was asked simply what impact it will have on the Patriots to lose a player of Gordon’s caliber.
“It’s a big loss to me. I think the offense was at its best when Josh was producing for him and he was reliable for Tom Brady on the outside as a receiver,” Bruschi said. He quickly followed by separating the football consequences from the real world implications of substance abuse.
“I just want to sort of step into it personally in terms of Josh and just hoping that he does get himself right,” Bruschi said. “I mean the New England community, I live there. They’ve embraced Josh Gordon. They’ve embraced the troubles that he’s had and him trying to get everything right in his life. And there were times this year during the season where Josh was doing so much for this team. It looked like he was on his way to playing good football again. But still you know there are some demons that he’s dealing with. And you just hope that he’s able to get all of that right in his life.”
“If this is something that he has to do for himself, everyone will support that. I support that, because you only want what’s best for the player off the field, first and foremost,” Bruschi noted. He then pivoted back to the impact on the Patriots.
“But moving onto this field and the production that Josh has been giving to the New England Patriot offense, it’s a big loss,” Bruschi explained. “They have to worry about now. You see at times [defenses] are trying to take away Josh Gordon, because they know the threat that he is. Not having that on the outside is going to be huge for them.”
“That’s just, to me, a small point here,” Bruschi concluded. “The bigger point being I just hope he’s okay.”
Media mogul and noted New England sports fan Bill Simmons weighed in on Twitter:
Other than Brady tearing his ACL in 2008, of all the Belichick regular seasons, this might be the single bleakest Patriots week.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 20, 2018
Simmons added in a follow-up tweet that he hopes Gordon “gets his life straight.”
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio asserted the NFL’s outdated rule structure.
The NFL continues to unreasonably police what players do on their own time, robbing the sport of talented players who smoke marijuana while not at work.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 20, 2018
And Sports Illustrated’s Robin Lundberg reiterated the need for the NFL to revisit its drug policy.
“If this is for marijuana, I think the NFL needs to take a look in the mirror.”@RobinLundberg weighs in on Josh Gordon’s reported suspension for violating the substance abuse policy: https://t.co/msTU6fe7DB pic.twitter.com/U9nj2FCpAs
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 20, 2018
NFL insider Adam Schefter speculated that Gordon could be done with football after his latest violation.
Josh Gordon facing potential suspension for violating terms of his conditional reinstatement under NFL drug policy, per @TomPelissero and @DanGrazianoESPN. Final punishment yet to be decided, but Gordon not expected to play again this season or maybe ever again.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 20, 2018
A subplot to the news began with a tweet from another NFL insider, Ian Rapoport, who posited that the Patriots didn’t play Gordon on the final shot at the end zone against the Steelers on Sunday because they knew this was coming.
Quickly, Patriots beat writers pointed out that Gordon had played almost every offensive snap in the game. Eventually, Rapoport deleted the tweet and posted a follow-up.
On the other hand… as @AlbertBreer points out, Josh Gordon played 57 snaps on Sunday. So clearly they relied on him prior to the last play. https://t.co/5ustUBEh4E
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 20, 2018
On a more traditional level of reactions, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith noted that he was “disgusted.”
“I am sick and tired of this guy getting chances,” Smith said. Bruschi – also making an appearance on the show – responded to Smith in the segment, explaining that his initial reaction was to be “very upset, because I don’t agree with you.”
“I think what you’re trying to say is you wanted to see him succeed,” Bruschi said to Smith.
“I still am a fan of Josh Gordon, and I hope he gets his life right,” said the former Patriots linebacker at the end of the segment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2j4Ml4lNk0
