Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who still has not been reinstated by the NFL, recently opened up about his history of drug abuse in a documentary filmed for Uninterrupted.
Gordon allowed a film crew to follow him around Gainesville, Florida, where he was in a rehab program, and explained during the 13-minute doc that he grew up using several drugs including xanax, cocaine, codeine and methazine.
“I’ve used alcohol on many, many occasions, Xanax on many occasions, cocaine several occasions, marijuana most of my life, codeine, cough syrup, methazine is very prevalent where I’m from,” Gordon says. “It’s what I grew up using.
“I’ve been enabled most of my life, honestly. I mean, I’ve been enabled by coaches, teachers, professors; everybody pretty much gave me a second chance because of my ability.”
Additionally, Gordon claims that while he was at Baylor University, one of the coaches tipped him off that he would be drug tested by the NCAA compliance officers, following his arrest for marijuana possession. Gordon says the coach also gave him “bottles of detox” and showed him how to drink them in order to pass the test.
“That was my first experience with getting over on the system and that authority not really being taken seriously, because it was kind of being guided by somebody that’s employed by the same university,” Gordon said.
Gordon, 26, left the rehab facility a few weeks ago and is hopeful the NFL will finally reinstate him after his latest 90-day stint, which began on June 21st. He was conditionally reinstated last Summer and was set to serve a four-game suspension to start the season, but checked into rehab in September, and hasn't gotten back on the field since. According to Cleveland.com, this was Gordon's fourth known trip to rehab.
When he was eligible to play, Josh Gordon was one of the most dynamic receivers in the league, leading the NFL in receiving with 1,646 yards on 87 receptions in 2013. He last played for Cleveland in 2014 and has sat out the past two seasons.