Browns receiver Gordon will receive probation in DWI case

RALEIGH, N.C. — A prosecutor said Tuesday that suspended Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon will receive probation and undergo a substance-abuse assessment after pleading guilty to a drunken-driving charge in North Carolina.

Acting Wake County district attorney Ned Mangum said Gordon received a 60-day suspended jail sentence and one year of unsupervised probation Tuesday.

The Pro Bowler is serving an NFL imposed season-long suspension for a failed marijuana test, though that could be reduced under proposed drug policy changes.

For his DWI, Gordon must also comply with any treatment recommended through the substance-abuse assessment, pay a $100 fine and court costs, and perform community service. His driver’s license was also suspended.

Gordon’s attorney, Trey Fitzhugh, entered the plea on Gordon’s behalf on a charge of driving while impaired from a July arrest in Raleigh. Gordon was pulled for going 50 mph in a 35 mph zone and also charged with speeding, though Mangum said that charge was dismissed.

Gordon, who led the NFL with 1,646 yards receiving last year, has been away from the Browns during his suspension and planned to work for a car dealership.

The players’ union voted last week to accept a league proposal for drug policy changes that include HGH testing, an increase for the threshold that triggers a positive marijuana test and a two-game suspension for a player convicted of a drunken-driving charge.

Under provisions of the new policy, Gordon’s suspension likely would be cut to 10 games. A union spokesman said Monday that changes “are currently getting finalized” by the league and union.

Gordon was due to first appear in Wake County court last month and the DWI case was continued until Nov. 18. But Mangum said the case was resolved Tuesday after Fitzhugh recently contacted his office to say Gordon wanted to plead guilty now.

Fitzhugh did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday afternoon.