DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum It's official, Gordon suspended for 1 year

He's not the first, and he won't be the last... in this, or many other professions. My own bunch has stories littering the history books of phenomenal talents who threw it all away due to personal shortcomings.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030106812.html

It's a tale that happens more often than you might think. I've personally known 2 or 3 people who could easily have made careers as international soloists who 'flamed out' before getting their "big break." The stories like JG's and Eugene Fodor's grab the headlines because they were already there before they gave it all away. They are the ones we know about. Beyond them, there are literally thousands of untold stories of people with the same talents/potential.

I don't know which version of the story is more tragic: the falls from grace of the once great... or the 'almost made it' stories of the 'never was's."

This one hurts us, because he was ours. But in the grand scheme, folks like this come and go... and there will be other JG's in the future. If his demons are stronger than his desire to make the pro football HoF, his future will be shrouded in anonymity.

And one other thought that I've been tossing about, but never mentioned before. It might be the key to all of this:

"Fear of success can be every bit as debilitating as fear of failure."


Given his humble beginnings and early background, it's possible that his self-esteem simply won't allow him to grab the brass ring. One theme runs constant in ALL high-profile success stories: they did the work, paid the price, and achieved the highest levels because they believed they deserved it in their heart of hearts. If Josh doesn't feel that he deserves success, he'll constantly find ways to sabotage every avenue available to him, no matter how much help he gets.

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that he has deep-seated inferiority issues that keep him mired in missteps, self-destructive decisions, and continued associations with sketchy friends. It all fits the profile/pattern.

Rehab alone isn't gonna do it for this kid. He needs someone to help him re-wire his brain from years of "inferiority conditioning."


.02

The first thing is the owner and GM should not be making proclamations and going into hypotheticals regarding future roster decisions. Why not just say something like, 'we will always try do what is in the best interest of the team.' That way you don't have to consider all variables when speaking ot the media, you don't have to always be on guard, and those words can't really be twisted.

I would keep Josh. Why not? The Browns invested a second round pick in him, paid him, counseled him, stayed by him, defended him. If he's going to be a great player in the league, it should be with the Browns, and if he wants to play for another team, he owes the Browns two seasons-- one on a rookie scale contract and the 2nd for a modest raise as a restricted free agent.

What is the harm in holding onto him? He can't be with the team. He won't be paid. I don't really see the downside. I think other players see the situation that Josh is in and that is enough to scare any sensible person straight.

But what message does keeping him send? See above: he's not with the team and he's not getting paid, who cares?! I think the better question is, what message does cutting him send? That you can be somewhat rewarded by being an idiot? If he wants to leave Cleveland, you are granting him that wish. If he wants a pay raise, you're giving him a big one (teams surely won't commit much guaranteed/upfront money but he WILL get a big raise next year if the Browns release him and he is reinstated.) I say don't reward bad behaviour.

Part of me really feels for the guy but another part is pretty ticked off.

I truly wish that Gordon would put himself into rehab for the next couple of months and get his life in order. The guy just has such unbelievable talent and to see another year wasted when I would have killed to posses the skills he has. I think that is the big reason that I so resent the way he has squandered these opportunites.

3 things can happen.

1) Gordon can get in trouble again, and be suspended even beyond one year.

2) Gordon can appear to stay clean, but have enough things raise suspicions that he is reinstated by the NFL, and the Browns either cut him, or trade him.

3) Gordon decides that he is throwing his life and career away, and dedicates himself to cleaning his act up 100%.

The next year will tell what will happen.

This is an interesting tidbit, and I wonder if this had anything to do with the decision to fire WR Coach

Suspended WR Josh Gordon rebuked by GM Ray Farmer: 'Our efforts have not resonated with him' | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/02/josh_gordon_cleveland_browns_g.html#incart_2box

In an open letter to Charles Barkley and others on Thursday on The Cauldron, Gordon explained that he tested positive for alcohol after having two drinks and two beers on a plane to Las Vegas with his teammates on Jan. 2, and thought he was okay to drink because the season was over. Former Browns receivers coach Mike McDaniel was also on the plane.

Browns considering recovering pro-rated bonus money from suspended receiver Josh Gordon

The NFL has acted swiftly on Josh Gordon’s failed test for alcohol after the season and announced the Browns’ gifted wide receiver is suspended for a minimum of one year, effective immediately.

The suspension is without pay. Gordon’s scheduled base salary of $1.068 million for 2015 will not count against the team’s salary cap. Per terms of the collective bargaining agreement, Gordon could be required to refund the pro-rated portion of the cash bonus he received when he signed a four-year contract in 2012. The pro-rated portion of the $2.324 million bonus (already paid) is $564,115.

Asked if the Browns would seek to recoup it, a club spokesman said, “We will keep that option open.”

In an email response, Drew Rosenhaus, Gordon's agent, wrote, "We are not commenting at this time."

Gordon’s contract “tolls,” which means he will have one more season under Browns’ control whenever he is reinstated. Gordon would then become a restricted free agent after that season.

In a statement released by the Browns, General Manager Ray Farmer indicated the team does not intend to terminate their rights to Gordon by releasing him.

Farmer said, "As we have conveyed, we are disappointed to once again be at this point with Josh. Throughout his career we have tried to assist him in getting support like we would with any member of our organization. Unfortunately our efforts have not resonated with him.

“It is evident that Josh needs to make some substantial strides to live up to the positive culture we are trying to build this football team upon. Our hope is that this suspension affords Josh the opportunity to gain some clarity in determining what he wants to accomplish moving forward and if he wants a career in the National Football League.

“We will have no further comment on Josh as he will not be permitted in our facility for the duration of his suspension.”

Gordon is eligible to apply for reinstatement in one year. In the meantime, he must adhere to a treatment plan prescribed by the league’s medical director. The treatment could include random testing, abstinence from alcohol, counseling and even treatment at an in-patient facility.

After completion of Gordon’s one-year banishment, his reinstatement would be at the sole discretion of Commissioner Roger Goodell. If Gordon were to be reinstated, Gordon would return to Stage 3 of the intervention program for the remainder of his career. He would be subject to random testing and another indefinite suspension if he had another violation.

This is Gordon’s third NFL suspension in three years, costing him two games in 2013, 10 games in 2014 and now 16 games in 2015. He also was suspended by the Browns for the 16th game in 2014 after missing the team’s walk-through on the morning of their departure to Baltimore. That suspension cost Gordon another $48,564.

The most recent violation was detailed in an open letter attributed to Gordon and posted on the online magazine The Cauldron.

Gordon disclosed that terms of his 2014 reinstatement required him to be tested for alcohol in addition to other substances. Gordon had a DWI arrest in Raleigh, NC, on July 4 and he agreed to the alcohol testing in exchange for reducing a 12-game suspension to 10 games.

Gordon wrote that he consumed two beers and two drinks on a private flight to Las Vegas with several teammates on Jan. 2. Upon landing, he was notified to report to a testing location within four hours, and the test for alcohol came up positive.

“It was the first time I had consumed so much as a drop of alcohol since July 4, 2014, the day of the DWI,” Gordon wrote.

Gordon wrote that he thought the league-imposed alcohol ban expired at the end of the regular season. He wrote that he didn’t confirm it.

“Now, that oversight has further jeopardized my relationship with my team and our fans, my reputation, and maybe even my career,” Gordon wrote.

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&action=blog&r=17&post_id=41901

I think Smokey was overrated anyway. He freakin dogged plays left and right!!!! Seemed to love getting the fantasy stats. Not a guy that wanted to win and this team won less with him. Good riddance you piece of trash!

Yep, sure is a shame. He could be searching for a huge contract. Instead he is looking for a job with health insurance.

He is not overrated at all. The guy didn't play well this season, for sure, but he showed what he could be the year before.

That's not overrated, he's got the skills. Someone else said it, million dollar talent, 10 cent brain.

What a damn shame.

Thanks for the post. Rutigliano is still a presence in Cleveland. Speaker at our BB banquet; he told us of the Inner Circle.

It cannot cure what ails Josh; only he can do that, and that only with help. But we started something in the NFL with that. Wish him luck.

I own no part of this reason for conduct mentioned here. Balderdash!

Fired Paul Brown is my guess. He's gone. The ahole who fired him is gone. Our team is gone. IDK what to do at this point.

At least the Browns dominated the 50's. SMH

And still he hasn't been cut?!!! Pffft this FO blows chuncks if they won't cut Josh.

They should have cut him last year just after he was reinstated because he sucked wind and ran poor routes. He screwed up what little chemistry we had going.

Farmer is on life support IMO if he doesn't cut this guy. Gordon has done nothing but cause us headaches since drafted in the supplemental.

And a bunch of you guys act like it's some sort of surprise. The only surprise is, he's still a Brown.

Yes he is, he was touted as the only viable receiver we really had going into 2014 and everyone was upset we didn't draft a WR. And then he comes back and plays poorly. Skills be damned he's an overrated NFL WR.

I don't believe cutting him is punishment for Gordon. And to me that's not the point at all. Gordon is one player on a 53 man roster. The message being sent to these players is "Play like a Brown". Be a team player, committed to your team or you won't be here.

There has to be some teeth in that message. It has to have some accountability behind it. This issue is bigger than Josh Gordon.

Sadly, it looks as if they've gotten that message loud and clear.

It's a real shame for Josh Gordon that he can't seem to keep his head on a swivel. I didn't like his open letter to the media last week where he tried to justify his actions and come off as some kind of victim. The NFL has 1,600+ players and the vast majority of them ARE able to stay out of trouble. You're getting the opportunity to live a dream and make millions of dollars in the process and instead you would rather smoke weed, drink and hang out with guys who probably don't have your best interest in mind. That maybe harsh, but he's the one who was suspended twice at school, got a DUI (or was a DWI?) and is in the fourth step of the NFL substance abuse policy...

I don't know if we should release him or not, but it's time to move on completely and just act like he's not on the roster anymore.

He is still under contract with the Browns. He is still eligible to come back to the team. While the league has punished him, the team has taken no direct action against him.

We simply see this very differently. If the team takes no action against Gordon, the team didn't punish him at all. To me that sends a very negative message to the other players. That no matter what you do or how many times you do it, the Browns will do nothing.

As long as you have talent, you will be treated in a different way than the rest of the players. As a player, I would take it as there is no accountability. That my name is continued to be associated with Gordon. That as long as he's associated with this team, it brings a dark cloud here.

Once again you see it a single issue associated with Josh Gordon. I see it as a much larger issue in a team concept. We just see this much differently.

I understand how depressing it can be when speaking in a factual manner about the Browns. But that piece of paper you refer to means the Browns still have a connection to Gordon.

I'm sorry you see this as a game rather than a simple disagreement.

I think by 45, Josh will start to get it.

There's two sides to the coin...

1) you've got his rights in your back pocket with minimal effort.

The next decision from there will be whether or not to waste a training camp spot on him if and when he's allowed back in the league

2) Jimmy Haslam told the public that he promised veterans they were going to get rid of people who don't want to be here. It wouldn't hurt to put action behind those words.

I could go either way. I wouldn't flinch if we cut him, because he has never given any indication of dependability whatsoever.

I wouldn't even be upset if he went elsewhere and succeeded. Frankly, if he can succeed, I don't think it could be here. The odds aren't really good for him, and the fact that he plays for a completely rudderless and incompetent organization probably isn't helping those odds, any way.

As I said, either option has a logical angle, and I'd have no qualms with either course of action, and I think an argument can be made in either direction in regards to what's best for the team.

jc

The "or you won't be here" thing cracks me up. The Browns are the least desirable team to play for in the league. Small market, undesirable city. Cold weather. 7 straight losing seasons. Meddling owner who doesn't know football and whose main company systematically targeted and defrauded 'the little guys'. New offensive coaching staff. 1st round QB from last year is in rehab. You can't make this stuff up.

Josh has continually screwed over the team by being suspended and for lack of preparation and effort when he was around. Don't do him any favors. Make no mistake about it, if he is released by the team and reinstated by the league, he will have teams lining up to sign him to a big contract (albeit with little to no guaranteed money.) He was punished by the team with the unpaid week 17 suspension that may also, depending on how the appeals go, cost him a year toward free agency and a big pay day.

Besides, the NFL is a business and it's a business of winning. You don't let players who have already shown they can be elite-tier out of a team friendly contract just to prove a point, which actually isn't proving a point at all. You work with him, help them improve etc. and if that doesn't work you play hardball. See above.

Besides, he's a great example to our young players of what can go wrong if you continually make bad choices, kind of like a real-life example of what you would see in D.A.R.E class when you were younger (and now I feel like I'm just piling it on. sorry about that.)

If he turns it around, that's even better. It would be a great redemption story and it would be the Browns, not the Ravens or Steelers, who would reap the benefits on the field.

You make it sound almost futile to be a Browns Fan

Yes it does. It sends the message that the Brown's FO will do what's best for the team no matter what, and no player is above that. It sets an example that has never been set here before.

If the Browns keep Gordon into next season I'm done with this dysfunctional team. The Browns continue to make the same mistakes over and over when it comes to personnel decisions from top to bottom.

J/C

I see a lot of reasons for and against keeping Gordon. The one that I don't get is that if we release him we're giving him what he wants. At this point, I don't give a rat's rear end what he wants/doesn't want. If he is kept on the roster, how can this team justify getting rid of anyone else for the same or lesser offenses? It's about credibility (something this organization sorely needs!)

As a school teacher, I hear arguments all the time about not giving a kid out of school suspension because that's more of a reward/it's what he wants. So what? The point is that he's no longer in the building acting like a jackwagon, and in that case everyone else wins, whether he gets what he wants or not.

Just my 2 cents.

i think this FO has already sent too many messages to the locker room.

You are assuming the players don't know the difference between right and wrong.

They already know, no need to send a message.

Gordon isn't costing us a dime for the next 12 or so months and we may be able to recoup some of his signing bonus and we retain his rights.

There is NO VALUE at all in cutting him loose.

But does he cost us a roster spot?

No.

It also sends a message that if you want to leave you can act up and we will let you out of your contract. IMO keeping him signed is the right move.

Damon, I believe what one actually has to look at is what the FO has said about such things. They've made a point of saying that to be a part of this team, you have to measure up. That you have to put the work and effort into it.

JG has done none of that. To me, if this FO wants to have any credibility in what they say, they have to cut Gordon. If not, what they've been saying is nothing but hot air.

At this time more than ever, this FO needs to be seen as backing up their message, To show some integrity. I believe cutting Gordon loose would do just that.

Sometimes the truth hurts and I'd rather but critical but honest than bash those who have negative opinions. I'm not saying you're doing that but it's just a broader point that those who have been skeptical about what the Browns have done over the last however many years have been right far more times than not. just something to think about the next time we (in general) go off on a Grossi or a La Canfora.

The takeaway that I get from this is that out of school suspensions are a flawed punishment. Saturday detentions and in-school suspensions are an actual punishment. OOS is just some vacation days.

If you really need to take a kid out of school, for example for the safety of other students, expulsion (at least for the year) is the better choice. Otherwise make the kid sit in a room and do his work.

If Josh really wanted to push the issue, he could get released. I'm not to that point with him yet. For example, the Lions had no choice but to release Titus Young but he wasn't nearly as good of a player and more importantly was intentionally sabotaging the team (lining up in the wrong spots on purpose) and became a 1 man crime wave. Let's see where Josh is at if he gets reinstated. If he misses more meetings etc., you give him an in school suspension (conduct detrimental to the team) and go from there.

I have to agree with Daman and others, it does send a message to others.....Think you can act up and be sent packing? Just to go to another Team? This says Act up and we hold your rights until you no longer can even play Football. He gets his wish if we let him go. Reading between the lines all last season, it sure looked like he was trying to get released. There was talk of him & Johnny wanting to go to the Boys. Not only does he NOT get Paid, He also will still belong to us for another year. Plus we might recoup some signing bonus $$. Talk about sending a strong Message.

Hey, it's easy to predict doom and gloom.. Try predicting no major issues.