An open letter to Johnny Manziel
February 3, 2015
Making sense of LeBron’s Cavs, plus Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon – WFNY Podcast – 2015-02-03
February 3, 2015The NFL didn’t waste a lot of time getting down to business with regard to Josh Gordon. A statement from the NFL was pretty succinct.
“Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns has been suspended without pay for at least one year for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. Gordon’s suspension begins immediately.”
The Browns General Manager Ray Farmer had a bit more to say on the matter…
“As we have conveyed, we are disappointed to once again be at this point with Josh. Throughout his career we have tried to assist him in getting support like we would with any member of our organization. Unfortunately our efforts have not resonated with him. It is evident that Josh needs to make some substantial strides to live up to the positive culture we are trying to build this football team upon. Our hope is that this suspension affords Josh the opportunity to gain some clarity in determining what he wants to accomplish moving forward and if he wants a career in the Nation Football League. We will have no further comment on Josh as he will not be permitted in our facility for the duration of his suspension.”
I’m guessing there won’t be a lot of #FreeJoshGordon statements going around on Twitter this time as sympathy has waned for the troubled wide receiver. Even in the face of a lengthy letter explaining his side of the story, I don’t get the sense that anyone has any patience left even if there are notable flaws and hypocrisies in the NFL’s handling of drug and alcohol cases involving players.
18 Comments
My first reaction is, cut this idiot. However, do we risk anything by not cutting him? His salary does not count against the cap, so on the 1 percent chance that he can get it together, we still have a good wide receiver for cheap, for at least a year.
OK, so no reason to talk about him again for 11+ months. We have a couple of other items on the to do list.
and further degrade the culture and discipline of the team by enabling rule breaking. Which you know is the strength of the team currently.
He’s been suspended indefinitely with a year minimum before he can apply for reinstatement along with no salary during his suspension and no other “benefits” of being a professional athlete. What part of that message is being missed by someone in the locker room who would finally get it if only the team would cut him?!
Gordon, Manziel, raising ticket prices after going 7-9, and coaches leaving or being fired. Yikes.
I agree. Do a Justin Blackmon on him. If he comes back, he will have to do so clean at least 19 months, and he will be playing for a big payday. Hopefully we have a few good wideouts by then, but he is still cheap if he does come back and play.
I would leave his locker the same way he left it and not clean it, just let it collect dust for a year, even if they remove the name
Guess he will have a job in dallas..or even the steelers!
How about that this behavior is unacceptable to the Browns? The NFL suspended him, we haven’t done jack. Apparently play like a Brown means party til the break of dawn to the point where you cannot even show up to practice, let alone perform on the field, and if the NFL doesn’t catch you, we don’t care.
He’s been punished in the most severe way, short of jail time, that a professional athlete can be punished. Cutting him doesn’t add to that punishment and only removes a potential future asset from the Brown’s control if and when he should change. He costs them nothing financially or personnel-wise while suspended. Other than satisfying a fan’s emotional need to take their pound of flesh how would this move benefit the Browns? What message would the Browns send that the league punishment isn’t already sending? Who in the locker room is thinking, “Yeah, but the Browns are cool with it so I’m gonna do what I want?” These are grown men managing lucrative, fleeting careers; they aren’t eighth graders.
Yes. If we cut him, then he can come back, show off his talent to another team (if he works hard) and make a big contract. By us keeping him, he knows he is still on his rookie deal and he cannot just choose a team. It actually adds to the punishment and there is really no reason for us to cut him loose at this point.
Hopefully, he straightens out, figures what he wants in life, and comes back strong. But, if he doesn’t, then we can cut him 12 months from now as if it was today.
I know the Browns rule the Cleve, but I would be so happy if there was no further Browns talk until maybe a month before the NFL draft. Gordon is an addict at worst or an idiot at best. Manziel is a privileged buffoon and possibly an addict as well. I get it… let’s move on. Go Cavs. Go Tribe. Browns, you are in the penalty box for 2 months.
Idiot addict…?
And, at this point, cutting him actually HELPS him. Then he could sign a larger non rookie deal when re-instated and the Browns lost his services. Sure, if he can never get his life back together, the Browns have lost his services anyways. But this way, if he does get his act together, there is a 100% chance he does so as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
How did THEY raise ticket prices?
I would reference an obscure line from the end of Trading Places where Denholm Elliot’s island girl says “Can’t we have both?” But I know it would go over too many heads.
The team did.
I’m with you on the Browns the problem is they keep making news and not in a good way.
I just remember JLC bodacious set of ta-tas but what was that about going over too many heads? 😉