Mental Health in Today’s NFL
–GreenBean
We live in a time where sensitivities toward mental health issues are increasing. Slightly, but these sympathies are growing. As more and more of our children reside in the line of fire of addiction, awareness is at an all-time high. That’s a good thing, but is our response to these issues any better than it used to be?
There is a public example of the national response to the addiction problem that paints a pretty clear picture for us.
His name is Josh Gordon and he is an incredibly talented NFL wide receiver. He has been in the public eye since 2010 and has taken a long ride through the mental health response process for all of us to see and observe.
Gordon is gifted with being unnaturally athletic. He played basketball and ran track, in addition to his love for football, since high school. While he was recruited by numerous division 1 programs, he accepted a scholarship at Baylor University due to not being allowed to leave the state of TX. That was the first sign of trouble.
In 2010, he and another player on the team were found asleep in a Taco Bell drive-through lane. The police found marijuana in the car and they were arrested. The driver was kicked off of the team, but this being Gordon’s first offense, he was only suspended. A year later Gordon tested positive for marijuana and was suspended yet again.
After transferring to Utah State for his senior season, he was ultimately selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2nd rd of the 2012 supplemental NFL draft.
Talent was never the issue with Gordon. In his first season, he was one of the top rookies in the NFL.
With his on-the-field career on an upward trajectory, he received his first of many NFL suspensions in 2013. He was suspended for the first 2 games of the 2013 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Even after missing those first two games, he led all NFL receivers with 1646 yards. That year he was selected to the Pro Bowl.
As the accolades poured in, his troubles continued.
On July 5th, 2014, Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in North Carolina. At this early juncture in his career, Gordon had been suspended twice in college and now a third time, this one for a whole year, by the NFL. Every suspension, the result of using one substance or another.
The articles and sports talk shows all shared a similar narrative. “What is wrong with this guy? Doesn’t he see that he’s ruining a promising career?” The overall consensus was that Josh Gordon was essentially a morally deficient man who did not seem to care about his career; one that he was lucky to have in the first place.
After a successful appeal to the yearlong suspension, Gordon did play 5 games that year, but more bad news was on the horizon.
His difficulties and suspensions continued, and he finally chose to enter an inpatient rehab in 2016. When he applied for reinstatement following the rehab stint, he was denied due to concerns he was still using substances.
This process continued with a back and forth of being suspended and making a comeback, being suspended and yet another comeback.
This is where it gets a bit dicey and reeks of what so many fear about breaking their anonymity.
The Cleveland Browns finally “had enough” when Gordon showed up 10 min late for a meeting. They suspected he was “not himself” but in truth, it was the excuse they needed to get him off of their docket.
He was traded to the Patriots in 2018.
Now, who could blame the Browns for tiring of a situation like this? Who can blame the NFL for holding to their rules and instituting the suspensions? Certainly not the media who took great interest in diving deeply into how problematic of a person Josh Gordon was to deal with.
But that’s where the problem lies.
It’s really tough to deal with difficult situations when you just don’t know how to. Most will revert to a known and/comfortable method and simply apply it to the new situation. That’s what we have in this case.
The NFL, and most of the team organizations have a punitive approach and response to violations of their substance use policies. In fact, it mirrors the response we have as a country. Drug abuse and the subsequent behavioral issues are seen as an indicator of someone’s quality as a person.
Josh Gordon is a man with a diagnosable condition that requires help. Much more detailed and specific help than he’s received in large part. It really is that simple, but that’s not how it is seen by the NFL, the teams, the media, and the public at large.
The opinion of Josh Gordon is that he is a problematic person who doesn’t know how good he has it. Ungrateful even. Therefore, he should have everything ripped away from him as punishment. He’s being punished for having an illness in broad daylight. With the almost full support of the media and fans.
In today’s NFL one of the more visible characters, Dak Prescott has taken a risk and announced that he struggles with depression and mental health issues. Granted today’s society is more receptive to these issues than it was just a few years ago, the media and public response were still not supportive. There are talking heads asking the question of whether or not he was out of line mentioning his personal issues as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. I even saw comments that Dak was setting up a future failure and now we “won’t be able to discipline him.”
It’s sad really. Brace yourself Dak.
Josh Gordon has recently popped up again after serving what was labeled “an indefinite suspension” as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He ended up playing football for the Zappers of the FCF (Fan Controlled Football League) for a brief time before he applied for reinstatement into the NFL in July of 2021. 3 months later he received a reinstatement to the league where he signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.
There is hope for his football career, but it remains to be seen if he will be able to keep his mental health issues in check while enduring the pressures and expectations of his NFL role.
He raises a legitimate reason to ponder the way in which we as a country respond to substance abusers and people struggling with mental health issues. Clearly what we’ve done so far has not worked well for Gordon and it stands as a glaring example as to why people in recovery from addictions do not want anyone to know about their past.
That is the saddest part of all.
The numbers are there. It stands to reason that most everyone knows at least one person who is dealing with a mental health or addiction issue, but the punitive response is slow to change. The fear of receiving these types of responses keeps millions from speaking out and having the courage men such as Gordon and Prescott have displayed these past years.
Josh Gordon’s resiliency and unwillingness to give up should be applauded and utilized as an example of what perseverance actually looks like.
Qualities like that don’t come by every day. It just might be time to change our perspective on where this man and his struggles are concerned.