N/S Josh Gordon stepping away from Patriots. (4 Viewers)

[SoggyBottomBoy]

Wow. This turned into a heavy thread. Pulling for you guys and your fight against your personal demons. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Stay strong.

 

[DerrickB]

Josh needs to step away from football for the foreseeable future. The help that he needs to get does not need to be NFL related. He has been surrounded by a bunch of yes men.

 

[Goatman Saint]

Wow. This turned into a heavy thread. Pulling for you guys and your fight against your personal demons. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Stay strong.

Most definitely. Nothing earns more respect from me than someone who has cleaned up and stayed clean. It’s tough. While not an addict myself I have lost plenty of family over the years to the mental health/drug/alcohol demon. Respect the heck out of you guys for what you’re doing.

Now as far as Gordon, some people aren’t going to be able to break that cycle. Be it because of mental health, the cycle of addiction, the hangers on, whatever, something keeps pulling him back in. I was hopeful for him when he gave the interview after he cleaned up the last time where he admitted to his issues and using a lot more than just weed. He admitted to Xanax cuz every soccer mom has her Xanax prescription right? That drug class carries some heavy drugs which all show up the same on a drug test. The other one he admitted to is in the same family as heroin. Not saying he’s lying, and not saying he was taking anything stronger. However what he admitted to are low level drugs in high powered drug families. He’s not serious about facing anything yet.

 

[Pharoah]

I am sorry you are dealing with that it makes life very difficult. The anger outbursts are tough because personally after that I feel incredible guilt. Those pain pills(or any opioids) are the number one path to you addiction they get you hooked then cut you off and you need something to keep you from withdraws. Exercise is key and try mindfulness look it up it is hard it's keying in on any one item a focus while clearing the mind I guess it's meditation really also I am going to get into Tai Chi another great method. You hang in there I am pulling for you.

Thank you so very much for your support and kind words. Life hasnt been easy or fair but so many folks have it so much worse than me. I spent too much time pitying myself and lying to myself. Meditation sounds like a great idea, can you lend me any pointers on how to start and such?

 

[Chris]

I agree - I fully support responsible legalization and believe that weed has a wide range of medicinal value. But if a condition of your employment is that you don’t use it, and that job is one that you profess you want to keep, you have to be able to meet that condition. If you can’t, that means that your need for the drug is controlling your life rather than your desire to achieve your professional goals. That is addiction, plain and simple.

The debate about why it’s okay for nfl players to use prescribed pharma opioids but not weed is legitimate and I think the league needs revamp its policy. But in the meantime, this is more about a job condition that this person habitually cannot meet.

Agreed. People are trying to make this about "legalizing weed in the NFL", which is totally missing the point of this whole Josh Gordon issue. The man has an addiction that is affecting his decision making. The NFL is just where he happens to work, currently. This is something that will follow him to ANY job that will employ him.

This incident didn't occur because weed is banned. It occurred because Josh Gordon is unable to control himself. Hopefully, he gets whatever help that he needs.

 

[BooBirdSaint]

Done. Must have tested hot.

 

[OldTimeGamer1966]

Thank you so very much for your support and kind words. Life hasnt been easy or fair but so many folks have it so much worse than me. I spent too much time pitying myself and lying to myself. Meditation sounds like a great idea, can you lend me any pointers on how to start and such?

So sorry for not replying I had to run out. I usually keep these pages open it's that ADD I am all over the place. Anyways you are very welcome brother. I hear you on the toughness of life and the unfairness just do your best to focus on the good but man it's hard. I went through playing the victim and had too much self pity.
So with meditation or mindfulness just pick anything I like to look at leaves in the wind or a flower block everything out while breathing in a relaxed controlled manner. Make your surroundings quiet when you are first starting it can be a painting or photograph in your house or heck even a toy on the floor. Don't worry about the duration because it is extremely tough especially at first.

Tai Chi is something you can google it's slow movements and breathing. I have some info here from my therapist. Go to youtube and look up & minute Magic QI Gong. It's belly breathing with visualization 1x a day and breath in through nose,hold,exhale through mouth. Once a day. I really hope this helps. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I see my therapist every 6 weeks so if you have any questions I can ask her and get you info if you'd like.

 

[OldTimeGamer1966]

Wow. This turned into a heavy thread. Pulling for you guys and your fight against your personal demons. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Stay strong.

Thank you staying strong is the best thing you can have.

 

[Joodas Avila]

Agreed. People are trying to make this about "legalizing weed in the NFL", which is totally missing the point of this whole Josh Gordon issue. The man has an addiction that is affecting his decision making. The NFL is just where he happens to work, currently. This is something that will follow him to ANY job that will employ him.

This incident didn't occur because weed is banned. It occurred because Josh Gordon is unable to control himself. Hopefully, he gets whatever help that he needs.

Very true! The fact of the matter is that using weed gets you suspended, period. Crazy, cause there's a ton of ways to get around it. And what's more, if a guy knows he's gonna get tested just stop using for a month or so. That's where the idiocy of Josh Gordon and his lack of mental make up comes into play. It's crazy, cause weed isnt like heroine, meth or even alcohol where people can become seriously dependent on it. As enjoyable as being lit all day may be, making multi-millions to play a kids game as an adult is worlds better to me. That's a telltale sign of where Josh Gordon's head is at. Gordon's been suspect ever since his Baylor days and he clearly hasnt changed. It doesnt matter how many excuses and sob stories you spit out of your mouth. What you do is louder than anything you can ever say. Yet another example of why character flags and off field issues are every bit as important as testing numbers and on field performance.

 

[Saintsfan8989]

Dude has some serious issues. Thing is, I'm not even sure this makes the Patriots worse. They weren't going anywhere even with him. That is a franchise that is in for a very long rebuild. Take a look at their drafting since 2011. It's been very bad.

 

[KaYoTiiC]

I can’t believe he can’t stop smoking long enough to pass a test. I know Glen Dorsey used to smoke like a train all season and I’ve smoked plenty of times with a few active Saints players I won’t name. You’d be surprised. Put it this way fan favorite players on the Saints smoke all off season.

 

[jessy]

Just my opinion, I'd be more likely to hand out a life time ban on someone who beats their wife or girlfriend vs a guy who repeatedly smoke weed.