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I think we need Glen to make up some Free Josh Gordon T-shirts.
1) If the NFL bargained for the 1 year banishment, followed by lifetime banishment for one other misjudgment after failed drug tests, it was either a negotiating tactic (door-in-face negotiating (google it)), or just plain in bad faith to make the league look macho. "NFLPA agreed to it!" isn't a good excuse.
1A) DeMaurice Smith and whoever makes him look at the CBA is really stupid for letting this slide. And that's being nice. I'm guessing the NFLPA had salient points they focused on with regard to the drug discipline program and probably never even looked at this part of its structure. Very difficult to go through all of the agreement, although with how much money is involved, they should. Either that, or they're geniuses and knew the NFL would get killed when the policy was applied.
2) I'm surprised that the Union didn't negotiate a real timeline for appeals processes. Every other CBA in the real world has "reasonable time frame" defined. This CBA should be no different.
3) No measures are being taken for rehabilitation? Just wash your hands of the player? No EAP program? And they wonder why they get sued by alum...
4) Josh Gordon is a certified idiot. He put himself around the people that put him in this position. That's also being nice. He probably just smoked to celebrate taking his last test... Not smart and I truthfully don't think he gives a shit. We'll see how that goes when he isn't paid for a year. Everything I just said in this point doesn't take away from the fact that the NFL's policy is in bad faith and is beyond stupid.
While Goodell and the NFL deserve some flack for their handling, the Union really f'ed up as well. By the letter of the law, the NFL is correct in the suspension. How in the blue hell did the Union agree to a rule where the threshold is EXTREMELY more strict than every other known policy and where a guy can pass 70 drug tests, barely fail half a drug test on these ridiculous thresholds and still get banned for a year.
Dawg Pound Nation @DawgPoundNews · 28m
Okay #Browns fans. Here's Roger Goodell's Office Number. Have fun! 2124502027
5.) While Ray Rice didn't do the same thing and his was a 1st time offense, his offense was certainly 100x worse than Gordon's. And no, I don't care that the NFL doesn't have a clear set of rules on domestic violence. They should have set one here, plain & simple.
The ruling isn't a joke, IMO, but how long it took to get to it is.
There are three big issues I have with all this:
1) The draconian suspension. This is a league that punishes wife beaters for two games and kids who get free tattoos in college for five games - while not testing for HGH. Roger Goodell has gotten involved in the morality business and he looks like a fucking idiot. On top of that: Please don't respond with "the players agreed to it." CBA's are incredibly complex, negotiated agreements and we have no idea what was offered in return for the players to accept a stupid weed policy when they would have looked incredibly dumb for fighting against it at a time when the public just wants to see some football. But we do know that Goodell pushed for it. This is a guy who wants to penalize players for using profanity on the field but won't say shit about one of his teams using the name Redskins.
2) The length of the appeal. I assume the league was trying to a) bury this on one of the slowest news weeks of the year and b) send a message that appeals will only result in delayed suspensions that will harm the team for not one, but two seasons. This is all about doubling down on the stupidity of bullet point one.
3) Not allowing the team to have access to Gordon during the suspension. This is clearly not about rehabbing a player. It is not about helping someone overcome a potential addiction. It is all about showing these guys on unguaranteed contracts how replaceable they are. It is indicative of the contempt Goodell has for anyone that dares to question how he operates while hiding behind bullshit boilerplate about protecting the NFL's "Shield."
If you can't tell, I think Roger Goodell is a jackass and the league is operating in a different decade.