Great article on Josh Gordon

[mozichrome]

But the 40-yard dash? Gordon hadn’t spent much time on it during his 10-day training camp, itself a joke compared to the two months the average NFL prospect takes in preparation for his pro workouts. The faint muscle memories he built on the 4 x 100 relay team at Lamar would have to carry him through. Gordon’s first time, 4.52 seconds, would have tied for 11th-fastest in his position group had it come at the Combine, but he wasn’t as thrilled with it as the onlookers were. With one more try left, he pushed himself even harder—“At that point,” recalls the 22-year-old, “you’re just running into your future”—and, steps from the finish, partially tore his left hamstring.

The injury hadn’t cost him much time—only three-10ths of a second—but his future was in serious trouble. Again. Pain was quickly overtaking his body. As the three-cone drill was being set up, Gordon passed along word that he couldn’t do it. The scouts could hardly contain their rage. He’s not going to do it? I thought we came here to see the full workout! That buzz from earlier? You could scarcely hear it now.

Here, finally, was the Josh Gordon that had raised so many red flags. The diva. The guy who plays on his terms. If he didn’t win this crowd back, his NFL journey wasn’t going much further than the tour of Texans complex that GM Rick Smith treated him to before this workout. Not only did Gordon have to go through with the finale—the receiving drill—he had to nail it.

The setup was like something from an Upright Citizen’s Brigade show, with NFL reps calling on Gordon to improvise his way through an array of patterns he’d never run before. The more challenging the crowd suggestion—a Patriots rep insisted on seeing a China route, the Wes Welker square-in that had Gordon, gimpy and primarily a go-route specialist at Baylor, stumbling—the more it felt like revenge for backing out of the 3-cone. But Gordon kept sprinting, kept cutting and kept catching—through the pain, through some 30 requests—without a ball ever touching the turf. After 90 minutes of hell, Gordon had survived. He never thought the day would come when he could say he did.

Death always seemed to have their forwarding address. There was the loss of an aunt to lung cancer, a grandfather to another lung ailment, another aunt to heart failure; only his oldest brother Andrew, who survived an IED explosion while stationed in Iraq, dodged a visit. This all happened within a four-year span

When Gordon signed with Baylor in the winter of 2009, though, he didn’t realize that he had also agreed to be tested for drugs at the school’s discretion. This was a problem, as sparking up a joint had become his preferred coping agent, the easiest way to escape from his bleak home life. After Waco police cuffed Gordon outside a Taco Bell for possession in October of 2010, it was open season on the Bears sophomore. (Never mind that the misdemeanor charge against Gordon was later dropped.) He was tested after the arrest and failed—and, according to reports, failed another drug test after that.

just a part of it
whole thing
http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/13/josh-gordon-cleveland-browns-record/

 

[Brosef]

been through a lot

those deaths

that 9 dollar/ hour job to help mama

that weed habit to cope

that lean to help his "strep throat"

that heat from the Brown's GM

that realization he can't fukk up the opportunity of a lifetime

 

[SteelCitySoldier]

I respected him as a player, now he has my respect as a man

 

[MAKAVELI25]

I respected him as a player, now he has my respect as a man

 

[calh45]

Straight up and down I'd be giving Lombardi the every time I saw his ass if I was him

 

[Hammer]

 

[Guess Who]

Wow, never knew his story. The kid got heart. Glad to see him doing well and glad to have him on my fantasy team.