How the sports world reacted to Josh Gordon’s suspension
"We wish him the very best in taking care of his business. That's very unfortunate."
On Monday, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Josh Gordon was suspended again for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Gordon has struggled with both addiction and mental health issues throughout his life, admitting that he began using substances as early as middle school. While at Baylor, he tested positive for marijuana and was suspended his sophomore season and indefinitely his junior year. In the NFL, Gordon has been suspended five times for drug violations: three times while with the Browns, indefinitely in 2018 while with the Patriots, and now in Seattle.
In an interview with The Uninterrupted, Gordon said he was “enabled” his entire life and given a pass due to his athletic ability. After his most recent suspension, some have expressed that the NFL should hand him a harsher punishment due to his lengthy history. Some mocked Gordon on social media, while many former NFL players and members of the media have expressed that his health is more important than football.
Here is what the sports world has to say about Josh Gordon:
Pete Carroll, Seahawks head coach:
“My heart goes out to Josh having to face this again. The fact that he’s up against it and all poses a great challenge for him. Fortunately, he’ll have the benefit of all the league’s resources to support him and to help him. We wish him the very best in taking care of his business. That’s very unfortunate.
“We saw Josh at a really high level the whole time he was here. The work ethic he brought was one [thing], but his getting along with people, being good to work with and talk to and all that, to deal with on a regular basis, he was great. We were not aware that there was a concern other than his history.
“Josh has been through this before, unfortunately, and I know just from talking with him in the time he was with us that he does understand where the help comes from and support that’s out there. He does utilize the resources that the league offers. We just wish him the best.”
“Josh Gordon has Julio Jones ability. He led the league in receiving one year, and missed two games, that’s the kind of ability this young man has. I’m hurt, I’m just sad.”@ShannonSharpe on Josh Gordon’s suspensionpic.twitter.com/RtkbM4pxJr
— FS1 (@FS1) December 17, 2019
“I think now we have an insight, an inclination, as to why the Patriots moved on. I think they had a feeling this was going on, this was coming down the pipeline, and they moved on before…Yesterday, I found myself just sad. He can’t help it. He has a problem Skip, it’s an illness. It’s like cancer, diabetes, like any disease that’s afflicted him. He cleans himself up for a little while, but he can’t stay clean. The mere fact that the NFL is giving him this many opportunities…They’re doing everything they possibly can but they can’t monitor you 24 hours a day.
“I’m just sad. I wish he could get with people in his life and surround himself with people [that] when they see him start to turn left, when he should turn right or keep straight ahead, they were like, ‘Nah Josh, not today.’…I’m afraid without the NFL, the direction that he’s really going to go in. I think the NFL has allowed him to stay clean for as long as he did stay, I’m hurt, I’m sad.”
From one former player to another, @mspears96 is wishing Josh Gordon well. pic.twitter.com/J5hWmTfjNJ
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 17, 2019
“I’m concerned about Josh Gordon the person, outside of the game of football, because I don’t think he’s ever going to play in the NFL again. I don’t know if the NFL served as part of the therapy for Josh Gordon, that really bothers [and] scares me for what Josh Gordon has been through, has the ability to come back from and continues to go through.
“From a former player in the NFL that had the opportunity to see a lot of guys play a long time in this league, a lot of guys deal with things that could ultimately go into the part of their life that nobody likes to talk about — Josh Gordon, I am wishing you well, big dog. I hope that the NFL served as therapy, but I hope you find solace in something else and I hope that you continue to work on this monster that you’ve been fighting for so long and finally get past it.”
Pat McAfee: “I think I have a little bit more sympathy for the guy, knowing that he might slip up because it is such a regimen where you can’t do anything. You have to report where you’re at at all times. Yes, he put himself in this problem, he did it one hundred percent — just like me. I put myself into that program one hundred percent myself, but I as somebody whose been in that program can see how you could accidentally slip up every once in a while.”
Christian D’Andrea, SB Nation:
“It’s unclear what the league will eventually decide to do with Gordon. The veteran wide receiver has been forthright with the amount of work he’s put into maintaining his sobriety, but his constant violations of NFL drug policies have cast an unignorable shadow over a once-promising career. It now looks like he’ll once again have to stare down his demons in order to get his life — both on the gridiron and off — back on track. Even if he never plays another down, that recovery is something we’ll all be rooting for.”
“The specifics on Gordon’s suspension haven’t been made known to the public, but the culprit has often been weed. The man doesn’t seem like he can stay away…Gordon’s offenses haven’t been as egregious, and he is still in his prime athletically. So we’ll see. It would be awesome if he turns himself around. Gordon put himself in this position. But whether it’s on the field or off, he can still put himself in a position to do great things.”
Michael-Shawn Dugar, The Athletic:
“Gordon is unlikely to have any future with Seattle now. The Seahawks, currently in line for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, will have to finish out the regular season and embark on a postseason run without him. With young, familiar contributors such as Metcalf, Turner, and Moore, the Seahawks aren’t losing much in terms of offensive firepower…But, as Carroll said, this isn’t about that. At least not right now. It’s about whether a young man can get his life — not his football career — back together.”
Andy Nesbitt, USA Today’s For the Win:
“Gordon has so much talent and could have been one of the best WRs to ever play the game. There’s no way he wanted things to go this way. It was all just out of his control. [He] now steps away from the games and all the fans and continues his biggest fight far away from the bright lights of the NFL. Addiction, and the stigmas that come with it, needs to come out of the shadows and be embraced the way we treat anyone who has a disease…Root for Josh Gordon and anyone you know who is in his shoes right now.”
Maverick Carter, Uninterrupted: “Josh Gordon is an amazing player but has personal struggles that are real and with us.”
Vincent Frank, Forbes: “It’s not about football or Gordon continuing his career. That should be the least of the focus here. It’s about him getting right off the field and his family avoiding that dreadful call that so many of us have dealt with in our lives. The person on the other end telling you that a loved one has succumbed to this disease…It’s about more than Gordon putting up stats for our fantasy team or helping his own squad on the football field. It’s about him as a person. An individual.
“So while Gordon’s career might be on the verge of ending, let’s think about him as a man and use whatever faith we have to send him the best possible wishes. That’s what makes us human, just as this latest relapse is what makes Gordon human.”
Vic Vela, NPR: “Addiction doesn’t care how many records you’ve broken. And our level of compassion shouldn’t depend on the amount of chances one gets.”
Stacey Dales, NFL Network: “My heart goes to Josh Gordon. Everyone has a battle. May he find his stride in life and the peace that goes with it. God knows he has tried, and fought to win.”
Ben Volin, Boston Globe: “Really unfortunate. Was just settling in with the Seahawks.”
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