Gordon applies for reinstatement to NFL
Frequently suspended wide receiver Josh Gordon has applied to the NFL for reinstatement, a person with knowledge of the move said Thursday.
Gordon, 29, has been suspended eight times overall by either his team or the NFL, including six times since 2013, mostly for violating the league’s policies on banned substances. He played for New England and then briefly for Seattle last season before being suspended indefinitely.
An all-pro in 2013 for Cleveland despite missing the first two games while suspended, he led the league with 1,646 yards receiving, but his career has spiraled since. Before the 2014 season, Gordon was suspended for a year for violating the substance abuse policy, a ban that was later reduced to 10 games. But he was later suspended for the season finale by the Browns for violating team rules.
He didn’t play in 2015 or 2016. Although Gordon was reinstated by the league in late July 2016 and allowed to participate in training camp, he was suspended for the first four games of the season. Gordon opted to enter a rehabilitation program rather than play when the suspension concluded.
And in 2018, as a member of the Patriots, he was suspended in December and missed the final three games on the schedule.
More calls for Redskins to change their name: The recent national debate over racism has renewed calls for the NFL’s Washington Redskins to change their name, with Native American advocates believing the climate is right for action despite no evidence owner Dan Snyder is considering it.
It could take pressure from the other 31 owners and the league office itself to force Snyder’s hand. A Redskins spokesman said the team had no comment, while the NFL did not immediately respond to questions about the future of the name.
“(It) might be easier if the NFL as an institution or a corporation mandates the change,” University of California, Berkeley, assistant professor of psychology Arianne Eason said.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser last week called the name “an obstacle” to the team building a new stadium and headquarters in the District, which would likely be on land leased by the federal government. The site of the team’s former home, RFK Stadium, is one option, along with locations in Maryland and Virginia when the current lease at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, expires in 2027.
“I think it’s past time for the team to deal with what offends so many people,” Bowser said. “This is a great franchise with a great history that’s beloved in Washington, and it deserves a name that reflects the affection that we’ve built for the team.”
Snyder has owned the team since 1999 and shown no indication he’d make a change like Washington’s NBA franchise did in 1995, going from the Bullets to Wizards. When a 2016 Washington Post poll found nine in 10 Native Americans aren’t offended by the name, Snyder said the team, fans and community believe it “represents honor, respect and pride.”