Josh Gordon Is Taking A Leave of Absence From the NFL For "Mental Health"/ Got Suspended Again12/20/2018 
I mean, it sucks, dude. There's no sugar coating it. The Pats already bleak Super Bowl chances have taken a serious hit. After dropping two straight games (that frankly they shouldn't have) they now have lost something much worse than a road game in Miami; they've lost #1 WR Josh Gordon.
Gordon announced earlier today that he's "stepping away from the football field for a bit to focus on mental health". — Flash Gordon (@JOSH_GORDONXII) December 20, 2018
It was announced shortly thereafter that he would be receiving an indefinite suspension for violating the terms of his reinstatement.
I know the majority of football fans aren't going to shed a tear for the Patriots catching a bad break, but in the extremely reactionary league that is the NFL this really hurts their Super Bowl chances for the time being. Brady has looked old at times, and has had major mistakes in the red zone the last two games, but with Josh in the mix, you still felt like he had a classic 8 catch 140 yard 2 TD game in him. I was really expecting a breakout come playoff time, and was really excited to see what he'd do. The Patriots haven't had a guy as dynamic as him since Randy Moss. Although with the current mess that is the AFC, despite poor performances the last two games, you cannot count this team out. Even without Josh Gordon. Who knows? This may be the rallying cry this team with no identity needed.
Josh Gordon, while not back his 2013 self, showed huge strides this season and looked like the latest guy to get fixed (at least for the time being) in the Patriot Way. He was saying the right things, doing the right things, hell he was even locker mates with Tom Brady, 
While he wasn't racking up monster double digit catch games, he was performing at a high level pretty much from the start when he got to New England.
His yards per catch numbers were very close to his monster league leading 2013 campaign. In 2013 he averaged 18.9 yards a reception. While in New England he was averaging 18.0 yards a reception. His 720 receiving yards lead the team.
What makes this story interesting is the term mental health being throw into the mix. The topic of mental health and what exactly it means has been one of the hottest going in the current social climate. I definitely think it's a real thing that needs to be addressed, and something I think most, if not all people can struggle with. I'm not Josh Gordon so I don't know what the fuck is going on in his brain but part of me does wonder if he's just another dude who really loves weed? Maybe that's it? Mental Health is the new "feminine problems" where you can just say that and people stop asking questions. I'm not saying it isn't a real issue, I'm just saying there are for sure people hitching their wagon to the mental health train in order to justify their poor choices in a way that won't have much follow up. It's only human to wonder that as he released his statement hours before the news he's going to be suspended broke. One thing I'm really sick and tired of people using the term drug addict or anything like that when referring to Josh since the dude is smoking weed. He's not an addict. He's not on heroin, or fentanyl. The dude likes to get down with some jazz cabbage. It's not the same thing and if you cannot see that idk what else to tell you other than that we're probably not gonna get along. Maybe he's got some serious shit going on where he feels like he needs to get high to cope with it? I don't think that's a very outrageous claim to make even without many facts. Literally millions of people use marijuana recreationally and are still upstanding members of society. Meanwhile cigarettes are totally cool and completely legal despite the millions of documented cases of them being fast-forward buttons to an early grave. Got it! Unlike mental health, with weed the stigma is almost all the way gone. Definitely not a finished battle, but it's one that overtime weed will win. The money that stands to be made isn't going to keep getting passed up. Same reason why Rhode Island just legalized sports gambling. Weed is fully legal in Canada, 10 states and decriminalized in many more. I think what we need to look at is the rules in place in the NFL and all sports. Kareem Hunt abused a woman and will be back in the league before Josh Gordon. That to me is not right. If you think smoking pot is worse than physically harming somebody you're a fucking idiot and I'm not sorry for calling you one. The fact that these women beaters can get chance after chance when what they're doing is fundamentally, without question worse is asinine. Josh Gordon has had his chances too, there's no denying that, but to me this suspension stems down to a deeper issue in this country with the way we treat drug related offenses. Instead of throwing people in jail or not letting them work maybe actually try to help them? Many are saying he may now be out of chances, and considering this is about to be his 5th suspension, I get it. But dude, at the end of the day this guy is fucking smoking weed. It's lunacy. It's legal in 20% of this country. I don't understand how anybody with a straight face can truly believe this should stop anybody from being a pro athlete. Who gives a fuck what entertainers do? Their job isn't to be role models, it's to entertain. Should actors and rockstars have to stay sober too? Because if that's the case the writing on every funny show on tv and quality of all music is going to suffer. MLB and NBA basically already have stopped worrying about their athletes smoking weed because it's an unwinnable battle. It's what young people do. I'd rather have my star WR staying in and getting high watching Viceland than going out getting shit faced where there are far more dangerous things that could happen afterwards. One of the dollar store takes I'm seeing around the internet is that for all the money he's making he should be able to stop. I think that is incredibly misinformed and better proves that there is a serious issue with Josh. Idk maybe he is just an idiot? But to me, the more likely thing is there is a deeper issue. I hate saying I hope Josh gets the help he needs, because when people say that about weed it drives me crazy. I don't want him to stop smoking, if that makes him happy and helps him get through life I'm cool with it. If there is a more serious issue deeper beneath the surface I hope he can get that figured out. The Patriots seem to be fucked, but I didn't think this team was going to make the Super Bowl even with Josh Gordon. If anything it makes the inevitable easier to deal with. Don't get me started on the Brady window closing, and the mismanagement of talent on this team because that is a completely different blog in itself. To end this blog like a 8th grader, in conclusion this sucks. The Pats knew what they were getting into with Josh, but I honestly forgot that this was an issue with Josh because things seemed so back to normal with him. Losing to the Ravens at home in the Wild Card round is going to fucking suck. Oh well, at least the Red Sox won the World Series. 
1 Comment
1/3/2019 11:43:29 am
I don't understand why Josh Gordon was suspended for mental health issues. That's a huge personal problem that he needs to face and the organization is just too lazy to understand it. I don't get it where they are coming from but Josh Gordon is just giving what he thinks he need. I feel bad for him, actually. But the decision came from the organization and there is no way it can be revoked. I hope that the riles can still be changed as I see how unfair it could be not just for Josh Gordon, but for athletes who suffer from mental health issues. Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2024
|
RSS Feed