Sources said on Monday that the 32 representatives of the NFL Players Association would be voting on the newly proposed drug policy for the league on Tuesday. If passed, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon may have his season-long ban rescinded.
Because Gordon's ban is so drastic, there's at least a possibility that it gets reduced. In August, the NFL announced his suspension would be upheld after a league hearing officer ruled that Gordon's appeal did not make a good enough case for his violation of the league's substance-abuse policy. As a result, the 23-year-old took a job working at an Ohio car dealership because his suspension also entails no pay for the entire season.
But the new drug policy the NFLPA is voting on is a major overhaul from the current provisions. Significant aspects of the newly proposed policy include blood testing for human growth hormone (HGH), the expansion of neutral arbitration, and raising the limits for marijuana testing, which significantly applies to Gordon's case. It was reported yesterday that the NFL has received complaints from the Browns and Broncos regarding the statuses of Gordon and Wes Welker (who was recently given a four-game ban for amphetamine use). They're worried that the new policy won't apply to previous suspensions.
However, ESPNCleveland.com's Tony Grossi thinks otherwise and believes the Browns are under the impression Gordon is going to be reinstated at some point if the policy is passed today. Grossi points out that "the Browns never cleaned out Gordon's locker, Gordon's lawyers haven't sought an injunction from the Ohio court system, and Gordon stayed in Cleveland, rather than head to his home in Houston." And now, with the whole Ray Rice situation, the NFL may have to rethink its disciplinary powers because Roger Goodell is catching a lot of heat after the release of the latest video evidence.
In the event that the new drug policy passes and Gordon is allowed to return to the Cleveland Browns, he still might have to serve a suspension for his DWI charge he received back in July. According to Grossi, one of the provisions in the new substance-abuse policy requested by the league includes mandatory two-game suspensions for first-time DWI convictions. That should be no problem for Gordon, as he missed two games last season for his positive drug test for codeine and still led the NFL in receiving yards.
