People who dislike Gordon or have been burned by him don't pay attention to the fact that he's been sober for well over a year now and won't acknowledge this had nothing to do with drugs. The Browns haven't turned things around completely yet, but they were an absolute dumpster fire between 2013 and 2016.
- First, Gordon missed 2 years and wasn't worth a roster spot. Wrong.
- Then it was, "He's skipping some training camp to get "treatment" and that MUST mean a suspension is coming. Wrong.
- Then it was, "See, the Browns are releasing him so it MUST be about drugs. He's done. Wrong.
- Then it was, "Yeah, no way he's traded. Who'd want this bum?" Wrong.
- Then it was, "OK, he might get traded to some stupid team." Wrong.
- Then it was, "Fine, he's going to be traded, but it won't be to the Patriots - that'd be perfect, but they're too smart for that" Wrong.
- Now it's, "So he's traded to the Patriots. He won't last there. Not enough discipline and too dumb to learn the playbook!" Well, the Patriots think that's wrong.
Look, if he's on the field, he'll be good. I think anyone can agree with that. The only reason to think he won't be is if you assume he'll suffer a relapse, and that's been looking less and less likely since 2016. Doesn't mean it can't happen, but the fact that he sought help just to prepare for the season (and likely avoid Hard Knocks) speaks VOLUMES about how seriously he's taking this chance. I don't even know how much I believe the whole thing about being late for meetings... based on what I've heard, I don't know that I believe a whole lot that comes from Cleveland media about the Browns, because they're just trying to shape public opinion in support of the team.
People should root for the guy, because the league will be better if he's in it and performing well.