After being conditionally reinstated by the NFL earlier this month, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon opened about his substance abuse in a recent interview with GQ magazine. He even admitted that he used drugs and/or alcohol before every NFL game he played. According to Gordon, it was something of a ritual to him.
“We would stay at the team hotel, and then players are allowed to go back home, get what they need and then go to the game,” – Gordon said. “So I’d leave the hotel early morning, go home, eat breakfast, do my little ritual, whatever it may be, some weed, some alcohol and then go to the game. And then, I’d definitely be partying after every game, win or lose. Every game.“
After being drafted by the Browns in 2012 Supplemental Draft, Gordon went on to be among the best rookie wide receivers in the league. In his second year in NFL, Gordon led the league in receiving yards and earn First-team All-Pro honors although he missed the first two games due to violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. After playing just 5 games in 2014, Gordon was suspended for the entire 2015 season and didn’t play a game in 2016 due to various substance-abuse policy violations. He applied various times for reinstatement, and the league finally agreed to reinstate him on November 1 on a conditional basis, making him eligible to return in Week 13.
Despite Gordon’s reveal that he has been using substances before NFL games, Browns coach Hue Jackson said that won’t affect his thoughts on Gordon being a part of the team.
“I think he was letting things out, if that’s what was said,” – Jackson said. “I think he was cleansing himself of his past, and I get that, a little bit. But again, I think he said what he felt he needed to say.“
