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Josh Gordon Responds to Critics; Counselor’s Response

By Jared Mueller

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The Cleveland Browns have had issues with Josh Gordon for the past two seasons and will have to deal with his likely suspension next season. Many went after Gordon after finding out about his recent suspension. Many, including Charles Barkley, Stephen A. Smith and Chris Carter, have presented their concerns related to Gordon.

Before reading it is key that I again share this: I am licensed with the State of Ohio to provide mental health services. That is my full time job and has been for 13 years. Worked with a variety of clientele including those with issues with alcohol and drugs. This is not a clinical response but the same response I would have if a friend of mine was going through something similar with their job/life.

Today Gordon responded:

So we will respond to his statements which we found very interesting.

"First, words cannot express the remorse and regret I feel over this latest incident. I acknowledge that the repeated transgressions that have led up to this point have damaged my credibility, and for that, the only person to blame is me.I have let down many in Cleveland — my Browns teammates, our hard-working coaching staff, the team’s ownership, and the loyal fan base that wants nothing more than to win. Playing there is different than in many other cities. We feel the fans’ pain. We know how important this is to them."

We are glad to hear that you feel our pain Josh but unfortuantly you have been a part of our pain. As you later state your absence last season, as well as your play when you came back, is a big reason we didn’t make the playoffs. While you may respect your teammates, coaches, ownership and fans your actions have not shown it.

"But you know what, Charles, Stephen A., Cris and everyone else? I also have succeeded.I succeeded by escaping a youth riddled with poverty, gang violence and very little in the way of guidance or support. I succeeded by narrowly avoiding a life of crime that managed to sink its clutches into almost all of my childhood friends. I succeeded by working tremendously hard on my craft and my body to even have a chance to play professional football for a living. And, contrary to popular belief, I succeeded by overcoming my longstanding relationship with weed — because I knew I was risking my future over it."

As a professional counselor I understand the difficulties of overcoming your history. On the other hand I also understand what it means to play the Victim. You can either continue to give mental control and power to your past or overcome your past with active process of change. You have succeeded but using excuses for your failures does not show you are in process of overcoming, changing. I am truly impressed by you overcoming where you have been, you started pretty bad off. Now the question really is this: Are you satisfied with how far you have come or are you going to go even further?

"As a strict condition to my reinstatement in Week 12, I had to agree not only to abstain from drinking for the rest of the season, but also to submit to an alcohol screen as part of my in-season drug testing under the league’s substance-abuse protocol. Did I think that was excessive given I had never had any issue whatsoever with alcohol? Yes. Did I think it was hypocritical that a professional league making hundreds of millions of dollars off beer sponsorships was telling me not to drink? Yes. Did I so much as blink at the condition? No."

I get your thoughts on the alcohol testing. Heck the league does make tons of money off the substance but many, outside of professionals who work in treatment of substance issues, put alcohol in the same category as marijuana and other drugs. Most/many policies are written with them together, not separate. But your statement belies the underlying issue: You knew the expectations. You didn’t choose to follow the rules and your team, and you, suffer more consequences.

"On Jan. 2 of this year, just days after our season ended earlier than we all had hoped — and yes, my actions during the prior offseason definitely contributed to our failure to make the playoffs; it killed me seeing our guys fight so hard when I wasn’t out there with them — I boarded a private flight to Las Vegas with several teammates. During the flight, I had two beers and two drinks. It was the first time I had consumed so much as a drop of alcohol since July 4, 2014, the day of the DWI."

One of the signs we look for related to people with substance abuse issues is a continued use of substances even after consequences. DWI and suspension are consequences that tend to lead people to not use the substance in the future. Those that continue to use show signs of having a problem. I don’t care about the word “addict” as I care about healthy and unhealthy. Continued use, even if it was only 4 drinks, you can tell someone PR related likely helped him here by dividing out 2 beers and 2 drinks instead of just saying 4, is a big concern.

"In the end, of course, I failed myself.It doesn’t matter if I thought that the league-imposed restriction on drinking had expired at the end of the regular season; what matters is that I didn’t confirm whether or not that was the case. Now, that oversight has further jeopardized my relationship with my team and our fans, my reputation, and maybe even my career."

Josh Gordon, I am not worried about the outcome of your life. I am worried about the process. As you get the process right, the outcome will be guaranteed. – Me

You are correct. You did fail yourself. The Browns organization, their fans and even the NFL will carry on without you. Truly only you are the one who has possibly hurt himself long term. For that, I feel bad for you. The good news is that the NFL is a place people get multiple chances. Much like Johnny Manziel, this is all up to what you do moving forward, nothing else. Do you put in the work, do you seek out the help and are you open about what your needs really are? You may not even know what that is yet. If you do all that, and work hard at your craft, your consequences will not be long term.

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That is the question we are left with. Gordon finishes up saying that he is not a drug addict, not an alcoholic and not someone who should be analyzed and dissected. Nor is he going to die because of his troubles. All of those are very absolute terms about very severe consequences. For those that care about Josh Gordon, as a counselor and Browns fan who has followed all of this closely I include myself as caring, the question is about his daily walk to improve.

I will take one attempt to reach out to Gordon, with no expectation of a response, to see if I can find answers to the questions “How?” and “What?” How will things change? How did you allow yourself to continue down this road? What is the plan? What is your next step? How can your skills that helped you survive your upbringing help you get through this successfully?

The future is all that matters for Josh Gordon. Hopefully it is a positive one for him.

What are your thoughts on Josh Gordon’s letter?

Next: Could Randall Cobb Rejoin His College Coach in Cleveland?

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