Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver, Josh Gordon, had his appeal on a year-long suspension for a third violation of the National Football League's policy against recreational drugs last Friday, August 1st.
Now I know this is a Steelers blog, but I want to talk about Josh Gordon. First, I am sure the Steelers (and the Browns) want to know if Gordon is going to be on the field for the season opener in Pittsburgh. Second, a lot of people have been talking about the "hypocrisy" of Gordon's possible one-year suspension over recreational drug use and Ray Rice's two-game suspension for cold-clocking his then fiance (now wife).
The difference is in the policies.
Ray Rice's suspension us under the Player Conduct Policy. Under this policy, either the Commissioner or a panel chosen by him dole out punishments on player behavior off of the field. Now, I am in no way condoning the actions of Ray Rice. Personally, I think he should have been suspended at least four games. However this was his first ever Conduct Policy offense, he avoided jail time, is in counseling, and I think I read that his wife requested leniency because she did speak with whoever was handling his punishment. Now if he's involved in another off-the-field incident, there won't be the leniency that he just received.
Josh Gordon's suspension us under the National Football League Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. This policy is a step policy, which means that you have to be in violation of the policy multiple times to get a certain punishment.
First violation, you enter step one. You get drug tested many more times than a player not in the policy. Your name is not released to the public. There is no suspension or fine (as these have to be put to public record.)
Second violation, you enter step two. You get a four game suspension, and you're name is released as being in the program. Last year, Gordon entered step two. He tested positive for codeine which he claimed was in his prescription cough syrup and he didn't know. The NFL says that you and you alone are responsible for what enters your body, whether you knew you were taking it or not. NFL players have easy access to the list of banned substances, and he could have asked his doctor if any were in his medication. I am also fairly certain that you can apply for a waiver when it comes to medication, which are normally granted so if you test positive for that banned substance while it's prescribed to you, you don't get knocked for it. Gordon did neither. However, the NFL did compromise with him on his punishment. Instead of a four-game suspension without pay, he was suspended two without pay and then fined two game checks but was allowed to play.
For a player like Gordon, playing was worth more than the money. He's on a rookie contract after being selected in the second round of the supplemental draft. He had a huge season, setting himself up for a big contract with another big season. That's why he was willing to play two games for free. From and NFL standpoint, they felt like he was taught a valuable lesson in this regard.
The thing is, he didn't completely learn his lesson. It came out during the NFL Draft that he failed another drug test, this time for marijuana. This time, he is facing that year-long suspension. This is a drug that Gordon has a history with. It got him kicked our of Baylor. It's the reason he never saw the field at Utah and entered the supplemental draft. It's what got him in the NFL Substance Abuse Program in the first place.
According to NFL policy, a test above 15 nano grams per milliliter is a positive drug test. Gordon tested at 16 nano grams. His defense in his appeal is second hand smoke, which the NFL has said they do not suspend for. For most workplaces, that is also the threshold for a positive drug test. Anything over that and you don't get hired for the job, or you get punished (either a suspension or fired) if you already work for the company. The NFL didn't throw a number at a dart board and say "that's the threshold!" Also, this number has been collectively bargained, it's part of the CBA, so the NFL Player's Union agreed that this threshold was reasonable.
Some people, mostly Browns fans, have said that it's up to the NFL to prove that it was not second hand smoke. This is not true. This isn't a court of law. It's up to Gordon and his lawyer to prove, or at the least convince the NFL that Gordon's test was the result of second hand smoke and not actually smoking marijuana. With Gordon's history, I think that's a hard sell. Even if it was second hand smoke, there's no way to absolutely prove it. Not to mention, knowing that another failed drug test carried not just a year's suspension but taking a lot less money on his next contract, he should have never put himself in a situation where he could have gotten enough second hand smoke to test higher than the threshold. He has a person responsibility for what enters his body. Maybe the second hand smoke argument would fly if this was his first failed drug test in the NFL and he had no history of marijuana use in college, but that isn't the case.
If the NFL dismisses this failed drug test, I feel they set a precedent. They say that their threshold isn't a line drawn. If that turns out to be the case, where do they draw the line? Twenty nano grams, 30, 40, 50? It takes a line that has been collectively bargained and blurs it, which is not good. It's going to tell not just players, but the kids playing in Pop Warner, Middle School, High School, and College that it's okay to use recreational drugs to a very fine line.
Some people have brought up his 70 consecutive passed drug tests. That's great! I commend Josh Gordon on passing all those consecutive drug tests. But guess what, those tests don't mean a thing when you do fail one. It's not about how many he passed, it's about how many he has failed. This makes three failed tests, which earns you a very long suspension.
Once you're in step three of the program, you never get out of it. You're in this stage for the remainder of your career, which means that any failed test can land you either a year-long or undetermined amount of time suspension. Jaguars Wide Receiver, Justin Blackmon, is under a indefinite suspension under the third stage of this policy. Jacksonville does not know if he will be available at all this season.
In the end, the only fair way to end this is to punish Gordon in some way. I don't think he should get away with no suspension. He tested high enough for it to register a positive test. Maybe an entire season is what he needs to get rid of the dead weight around him. Maybe a shorter suspension will do that. I don't have the answer.
What I do know is that I don't have any sympathy for Josh Gordon. He's put himself in this position by failing multiple drug tests already in his short NFL career. You and you alone are responsible for what enters your body. You'd think he had learned that after the codeine related suspension, but I guess not. He shouldn't have been around marijuana in the first place.
