CLEVELAND — The NFL suspended Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon for at least one year without pay on Monday for violating the league’s substance-abuse program.
Gordon, who has already served two league suspensions, will have to apply for reinstatement. A league spokesman said his one-year ban begins immediately, meaning he will miss the 2015 season. The former Pro Bowler has been a repeat offender of the league’s drug policy, and his latest offense has jeopardized his once promising career.
Last week, Gordon said his failed test was for alcohol. He was prohibited from drinking for the 2014 season because of previous violations. Gordon said in an open letter posted online that he erroneously thought the season was over when he drank on a flight to Las Vegas with teammates a few days after the Browns lost in their season finale to Baltimore.
Browns general manager Ray Farmer said the team is “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,” Farmer said in a statement. “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.”
Farmer said he hopes the suspension will help Gordon determine what he wants to accomplish “and if he wants a career in the Nation Football League.” Gordon is not permitted at the team’s facility during his suspension.
Gordon led the league with 1,646 yards in 2013. He was suspended for the first 10 games last season, and when he came back the 23-year-old did not provide the spark the Browns had hoped.
Gordon said in his letter he has not decided if he will appeal his latest suspension. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Gordon’s suspension is another troubling development for the Browns, who announced on Monday that quarterback Johnny Manziel entered treatment last week for an unspecified condition. The team once considered Gordon and Manziel as part of their future core, but now neither player can be counted on and it remains to be seen how long they will remain on Cleveland’s roster.
Gordon entered the pros with a track record of substance abuse problems. He was dismissed at Baylor and Utah for multiple positive tests for marijuana. Despite knowing the risks, the Browns selected him in the 2012 supplemental draft. Gordon was suspended for the first two games in 2013 for what he claimed for codeine in his prescribed cough syrup.
He was suspended indefinitely last season, but had his penalty reduced to 10 games after the league revised its drug policy. While awaiting an appeal on his suspension, Gordon was arrested for DUI in North Carolina and he was cited for traffic violations in Ohio.
Gordon briefly checked himself into rehab, and the Browns held out hope he would straighten out. However, coach Mike Pettine said Gordon was late for multiple meetings and the team suspended him for the season finale at Baltimore after he failed to attend a walk-through before the team’s flight to Maryland.
When he did play, Gordon seemed disinterested on the field and he even acknowledged running the wrong pass routes.
He may have run his last one.
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