Josh Gordon was dismissed from Baylor University in 2011 after failing a test for marijuana. He was selected in 2012 by the Cleveland Browns. In 2013, he was suspended for 2 games by the NFL for another failed drug test on which he blamed prescription cough medicine. He then pleaded guilty for a DUI charge and was suspended by the NFL for the whole 2014 season. Then, the NFL altered its substance abuse policy and allowed him to play after his suspension was reduced to 10 games, but he was suspended for the last game of the season. He was then suspended for the whole 2015 season for testing positive for alcohol, which he was not allowed to drink due to the fact that he was entered into the NFL’s substance abuse program after his last suspension. He claims that he was drinking on a flight during the off-season and he didn’t know that the restrictions applied to the off-season, as well. He has committed a lot of drug related violations in his young NFL career and in the last 2 years, he has spent more time not playing than playing in the NFL. However, despite all of his violations, his tone has remained the same. He believes that HE DOES NOT HAVE A PROBLEM. He believes this so much that he recently has applied for reinstatement by he NFL. He claims that he does not have a problem and I feel that many NFL players believe that he doesn’t either considering the amount of drug violations there have been in the NFL in recent years and that he has only gotten suspended for marijuana, which is not a very addictive drug. This article showed the amount of drug violations there was up until September 2014. Most of those suspensions were for performance-enhancing drugs (not condoning them but its obvious why an athlete would want to use PEDs) and marijuana. With the exception of the alcohol suspension from last year and maybe the cough medicine incident (or maybe not), it is safe to say that the reason that Josh Gordon has gotten suspended so much is because of marijuana. When on the field, Josh Gordon is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. So if he doesn’t have a problem, why does he keep putting his career on the line for it.
American football is a gladiator sport. If you are an offensive player, particularly quarterback, running-back, or wide receiver, guys are going on the field with the intent of hurting you, maybe not to the point of injury, but just enough to knock the ball out of your hands or knock you so hard you can’t hold on to the ball. As a matter of fact, there are claims that rugby, a sport that looks like football without pads, is safer than American football. Yet, they are treated as if they play a sport with just as much intensity as every other major sport in America. Every NFL game, somebody gets hurt. So for those that happen to get repeatedly hurt due to playing style or position, do you continuously give them painkillers and other dangerous prescription drugs? It seems as if the players are continuously taking matters into their own hands whether they decide to smoke synthetic marijuana which is not a banned substance under the list of banned substances in the NFL but worse than real marijuana or take their chances by smoking the real thing and hope that they do not get tested soon.
Josh Gordon has been labelled as an addict, an immature kid (by others as well as himself), and another potential great who’s career was plagued by drugs all before the age of 25. It seems as if in his mind, he’s being treated unfairly by the NFL and general public. It is a fact that a lot of other 25 year olds in America smoke weed. I don’t think that anybody reading this will dispute that. However, most other 25 year olds don’t have millions at stake to lose if they are caught smoking it. The argument is that he is just careless, however, if there is really an epidemic of painkillers, which can have much worse effects and are more addictive than marijuana, given to the players by team doctors and if most players choose to smoke marijuana instead because it is safer, and these players play a sport in which they are beat up once a week, is he really being careless or doing what he feels he has to do to be able to play in the NFL?
NFL, do you suspend a player if there is marijuana detected in his system but he plays for the Denver Broncos? There’s a change in American culture when it comes to marijuana. States all across the country are on a path towards legalizing it if they have not already. Yet, the NFL does not want to follow this trend despite portraying itself as America’s unofficial pastime. Despite how they actually feel about the drug, that seems wrong of them. However, they can do what they want. The health benefits of marijuana are undeniable. It has gotten to the point where researchers are looking into ways for people to use marijuana for health benefits without the high. However, the NFL needs to realize that players are not going to wait for researchers to figure it out and they aren’t going to let random tests stop them from their pain relief.
I have never played professional or even collegiate football. The furthest I have gone in my football career is middle school. I do not smoke marijuana, either. However, I do know that since I have not played at a high level that I cannot judge a NFL player because of his alternate and safer method of pain relief. The perception of American football is changing. From ex-players suing the NFL over neglecting to inform them how dangerous the game is to ex-players wishing they never played and predicting the NFL will go extinct, people are looking at the NFL differently. People are realizing that football is just as much of a game on the field as it isn’t off the field. The NFL needs to realize that and take that into account with its policy. Many want to label Josh Gordon irresponsible, but that may be irresponsible of us as NFL fans. Josh Gordon could very well, be irresponsible and just wanted to get high and had no medical need for marijuana. However, the fact that there’s a possibility that he may have needed marijuana to play football means that we might be right in jumping to conclusions.
The Soapbox 