Josh Gordon won't sue over ban
— -- CLEVELAND -- Banished Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon says he has no plans to sue the NFL and is moving forward regardless of whether the league decides to revamp its drug-testing policy.
"The whole being in limbo thing, I'm over it," Gordon said Friday. "I'm not waiting on the edge of my seat anymore."
Gordon, suspended for a year for a failed test for marijuana, also said Friday that he voluntarily checked himself into a rehab clinic in July, though he doesn't consider himself an addict. Gordon said he spent two weeks at a clinic in Malibu, Calif., but had to leave before the 30-day program was over to get to training camp and prepare for his appeal.
The appeal failed last week, as the NFL announced that arbitrator Harold Henderson upheld Gordon's suspension. Gordon said he was leaving the Browns' facility when he heard the news. He said he failed a drug test this past winter because of second-hand smoke.
Gordon's "A" sample tested at 16 nanograms per milliliter, a bare one nanogram per milliliter above the 15-nanogram-per-milliliter threshold, while Gordon's "B" sample -- which should theoretically be consistent with the "A" sample, as it comes from the exact same specimen -- tested at 13.63 ng/ml, lower than the threshold.
Asked by ESPN.com Friday when the last time he smoked marijuana was, Gordon said that it's been a while.
"I think it was before I got into the league," he said. "I don't know."
Asked why he checked himself into rehab if he doesn't consider himself an addict, Gordon said, "Just to see. ... To seek out some help on decision making. Not drug use or drug abuse, but decision making. Life skills. How to be your own person and stuff like that."
Negotiations to revamp the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy, and possibly implement HGH testing, have intensified, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen have reported. The NFL and NFLPA are trying to come to an agreement before the start of Sunday's games, but an agreement is still iffy.
Gordon confirmed that he did check into possibly playing in the CFL in the hours after he found out he lost his appeal. He can't play in the CFL because he's under contract with the Browns. He said money wasn't the reason he checked into it. He just wanted to stay in shape and stay active. Gordon was suspended for two games in 2013 for testing positive for codeine. He maintains that he was on the codeine as prescribed medicine for strep throat. In July, Gordon was arrested in North Carolina for driving under the influence.
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