When ESPN analyst Cris Carter urged the Cleveland Browns to release Josh Gordon in July, the Hall of Famer emphasized that the suspended wide receiver is battling an addiction and a disease.
During a filmed interview released Sept. 7, Gordon insisted he does not have a drug problem.
"Definitely not. In this case I was exposed to it from second-hand and prior to I've been drug-free and been staying that way," Gordon said, per The (Lorain County, Ohio) Chronicle-Telegram. "This incident has been causing a backlash of negative attention and negative media of me being an addict or junkie or using drugs terribly too much, which is definitely not the case."
Gordon was dismissed from Baylor due to marijuana issues, failing drug tests there and at Utah. He is currently serving a year-long suspension for a failed marijuana test after last season's two-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.
Following a July arrest on suspicion of DWI, Gordon checked himself into a rehab facility in Malibu, California.
"I chose to go on my own accord and thought it would be beneficial for me to seek out some help and see what could be done," Gordon explained. "They assessed me and they made their diagnosis and said I wasn't addicted to anything and said I really didn't have any drug problem."
Gordon said he had been tested 70 times before his positive result that registered one nanogram over the NFL's limit.
To this point, we have seen no reliable reports that Gordon will be reinstated from suspension to play this season.
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