Legal Options Remain For Suspended Cleveland Browns WR Josh Gordon
Jul 28, 2014; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon (12) during training camp at Cleveland Browns training facility. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The suspension cloud no longer looms over Josh Gordon. It broke and stormed all over the Pro Bowl wideout Wednesday with news that he’ll be out indefinitely.
But the fight might not be over.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported that Gordon’s legal team is weighing its options–as it should–because there is a map to follow that gets Gordon back on the field this fall.
The blog at Field and Court had really interring post on what could happen if Gordon got suspended. The webiste is published by former New Mexico basketball player Cedric Hopkins. The former Lobo attended law school in San Diego. In this post, Hopkins outlined a hypothetical case for arguably the league’s most dangerous receiver.
• It starts by filing a civil suit at the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas. Gordon would also seek a temporary restraining order, or TRO. If a judge grants the TRO, the ruling will delay the NFL’s penalty and will allow Gordon to play while the case is resolved through the legal system.
There's absolutely no reason for Gordon not to file a lawsuit and request a TRO now. It's not like they can suspend him longer if he does.
— Cedric Hopkins (@FieldandCourt) August 27, 2014
• Hopkins’ post goes heavy on legal terminology and the difference between state and federal laws, but there are some things that stand out. Also, I should point out Hopkins predicted Gordon’s appeal would be overturned.
• The writer quickly points out there is some precedent in the matter. Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, of the Minnesota Vikings, were suspended for four games in 2008 because they claimed to be suspended for taking a banned substance that wasn’t on the label of the consumed supplement.
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Pat and Kevin waged a legal battle and eventually lost, but their case wasn’t resolved until 2011 and had the four-game suspension reduced to two. They continued to play during that time.
• What about the collective bargaining unit? Hopkins wrote the NFL will try to bypass Ohio state law by arguing only federal law applies to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Substance Abuse Policy. The NFL tried to do this against the Williamses and lost.
• So what’s the difference between the Williams and Gordon?
Pat and Kevin argued that state law trumped the the league’s substance abuse policy and lost. “The Williamses were taking the position that Vikings players were only subject to discipline under state law, not the NFL, ” Hopkins wrote.
May 21, 2014; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon (12) during organized team activities at Cleveland Browns practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Gordon’s team would simply argue No VIOLATION was committed because he didn’t fail in the eyes of Ohio law.
Think back to that A and B Test report from Pro Football Talk earlier in the month. Gordon was just over the threshold in Test A, and just under in Test B. Because Test A was positive, Gordon got suspended.
If Gordon worked for some bank in downtown Cleveland, he would have passed the test because the inconsistencies of Test A and B did not meet the definition of a “positive drug test” in Ohio, according to Hopkins.
“If Gordon’s claim—that he did not test positive under Ohio law—(if that is, in fact, what he claims in this hypothetical lawsuit I’m drawing up for him) holds up, as I think it should, then the state court should find the NFL’s testing procedure violates state law, find Gordon did not test positive for the THC metabolite and vacate any suspension imposed by the NFL.”
Cabot reported Wednesday night that a source close to NFL cases of this matter said Gordon had no shot and that “It’s over.”
Hopkins predicts Gordon will get a TRO, if he seeks one, and play this season. He has been wrong, already, but for Browns’ fans, there’s always hope.