Posts Tagged ‘Suspension’

Josh Gordon and Understanding Addiction in America

Thursday, December 27th, 2018

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of Getty Images

Image courtesy of Getty Images

For the 5th time in his troubled career, Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon has been suspended for a positive drug test. Understand that for every suspension we hear about, there are other positive test that we never hear about…a function of the NFL’s due process on this matter. As it should be.

He had been productive with the Patriots catching 40 passes for 720 yards, which amounts to an average of 18 yards per catch.  From just a pure talent standpoint, he is on the short list of most feared deep threats in the NFL.

His talent has never been in question. His reliability has always been in question.

To understand Gordon and the larger issue of addiction in America, its’ important to distinguish what addiction is and is not about.

Addiction is not about stupidity or character. These are the two primary responses you get from sports fans. Their response is usually something like, “why would he risk all he has just to get high?” They attempt to apply logic and rational thinking to irrational behavior.  There is so much more to addiction than this. At its core, addiction, regardless of the type, is the manifestation of one attempting to self-medicate. Be the vice drugs, shopping, sex, or gambling, they are all attempts to treat that which has not been treated. Therefore, until one can get to the root of that which one is attempting to treat, the addiction will persist.  While there is a dopamine release in the brain in all cases, none have the biochemical impact of drug abuse, nor are they as socially stigmatized as drug use. This is what makes it more challenging in many ways than the others.

While there must be a desire to be clean, notions that it’s only about will power are overly simplistic as well. This myth was compounded by the former first Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign during the so-called “War on Drugs”.

This is what Josh Gordon is dealing with, and the fact that the Patriots literally assigned people to watch a 27-year-old grown man 24/7 and yet he still got away to do what his demons commanded him to do, should tell any thinking person that this is not that simple.

The even larger aspect that one needs to understand about addiction in America is the reality that under Capitalism, treatment, like everything else, is a commodity.

According to federal health and census data, in 2003, for-profit addiction treatment centers reaped $21 Billion in revenues. With the Opioid Epidemic, those revenues are expected to double by 2020. That rate is 3 times faster than the growth of inflation. Now most would say that there is no price that can be put on recovery for a loved one. The problem is, more often than not, they just don’t work. When treatment is a business, not only is there no incentive to truly treat, it’s the very opposite. The revenue stream is maintained and increased by recurring patients.

The 2015 documentary, The Business of Recovery, was made by a former industry insider named Greg Horvath. In it he poses the following:

“There are nonprofit treatment centers that cost $53,000 a month, while good senior care can cost $4,000 a month. What’s the other $49,000 paying for?”, asked Horvath. “It’s not like you’re using an MRI or an X-Ray machine. It’s a bed, food, and usually minimally-educated therapists. I’m really confused. Where’s the money going? No one has been able to show me.”

Of course, at the core of the issue is that addiction needs to be viewed as a health issue, as opposed to a stigmatized criminal issue. Furthermore, health care should be viewed as a human right rather than a commodity to the highest bidder or those fortunate enough to have insurance. Once we get the predatory insurance companies and for-profit treatment entities out of the way, we can begin to look at addiction in an entirely different way, and that paradigm shift will produce far greater results than what we have today. Part of that shift should include “Chasing the Scream”, by Johan Hari, as required reading for treatment professionals. This book provides a radical departure from traditional ideas about addiction and treatment.

There is a reason that the Canadians, the British, and even the Cubans do not have the recidivism among addiction that exist in America. They have greatly reduced the predatory element by adopting universal health care.

These models provide much more hope for recovery for the Josh Gordons of the world and those unable to pay what he can for remedies that have little to no track record of success. But only a continued mass organized demand will bring it about in America, where a Josh Gordon is the perfect customer; he has money and is not of sound mind.

 

Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports

What To Make of the Tired and Disturbing Case of Ezekiel Elliott

Sunday, November 5th, 2017

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

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The only thing that I am certain of in the battle between the Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel

Elliott and the NFL, which wants to suspend him for 6 games over allegations of domestic violence, is that

I am tired of it and want it to end!

Beyond that, all bets are off.

My initial thinking when pondering writing this was to rail against the self-interest obsessed Cowboy

fans, Jerry Jones’ white male wealth privilege and those apologists, mostly men, for abusers.

Then I did what I hope every opinion writer does: I actually engaged in a more detailed researching of

the “central charge” (I’ll explain why the quotations for this later) against Elliott. After doing this I have

come to the only conclusion anyone could come to, which is that I have no idea who is the victim

between Elliott and his accuser. The inquire raises more questions than it answers. To briefly summarize

the reasons for doubting the accuser are the following:

1) Text messages secured by the NFL show the accuser discussing blackmailing Elliott with a sex

tape;

2) The accuser tried to convince a friend to lie on her behalf and support her claim that Elliott was responsible for her bruises. The friend refused and cited a fight between the accuser and another lady in an affidavit as the possible source of her bruises; and

3) She verbally threatened to ruin Elliott

It’s important to be an ally of women in the fight against domestic violence. As a man, I believe that I can

play a similar role in this struggle as Whites can play in combating racism. I also believe that I have taken

concrete steps to be an ally. The data is clear in that the overwhelming number of allegations of

domestic abuse are true. Having said that, the quest to be an ally does not mean that I am obliged to

blindly endorse the allegations of everyone. Basic fairness demands that allegations, even from a

historically abused demographic, be scrutinized and when that is done in this case, the only conclusion is

that the accuser’s credibility is suspect, so much so that the NFL’s own lead investigator recommended

no suspension for Elliott.

So why is this still a pending issue dangling over the head of Elliott, you ask? There are two primary

reasons for this:

1) Ezekiel Elliott has been a knucklehead with enough documented acts that indicate a lack of

respect for women and poor impulse control and judgment in general. When the totality of his

record is considered, it is not that much of a stretch to believe Elliott is capable of what he is

being accused. The NFL collective bargaining agreement, which the players sign off on permits

the commissioner to consider such incidents in a cumulative manner when pondering discipline.

Therefore, any reviewing of the “central charge” alone is incomplete. It cannot be refuted by

“the police did not charge him” common claim because it’s not a legal process but a workplace

disciplinary process;

2) The NFL has an inconsistent track record when dealing with its players accused of violence

towards women, be it Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, or Josh Brown. As a result, there is tremendous

pressure to get this one right;

3) Elliott is the best player on the most popular team in the most popular sport in America. Anyone in that position, regardless of race, with these accusations is going to draw more scrutiny than say a punter, as was the case with kicker Josh Brown.

You may ask how the NFL can get it right if the player is literally not guilty of the accusation. That’s when

it gets even more complicated. Like it or not, there are at least 2 factors that the NFL considers BEFORE

the actual merits of the accusation. Those two are money and public relations. The actual merits of the

charges are at best a distant third . Money is easy enough to understand. Anything that the NFL deems as having the potential to dip into its bottom line must be dealt with ASAP. Then there are the public

relations of the issue, which is a direct extension of the money factor. This can be best summarized by

saying that the NFL is more concerned with damage control than it is the damage itself. That means

actually caring about domestic violence is not nearly as important to them as appearing to care about

the issue. What this all means is that in the wake of botching the Ray Rice and Josh Brown cases, they

needed a pound of flesh.

Enter Ezekiel Elliott!

So, after multiple court injunctions and stays and no clear ending to the stalemate, here we are.

Based on history, it’s highly unlikely that Elliott will avoid a suspension. It’s not a question of if he will sit

but when, and for how long. After all, even the golden boy, Tom Brady, eventually had to sit. Judges are

very hesitant to overturn provisions of a collectively bargained agreement and that is what the NFL has

as its trump card. Given that, what I have never quite understood is why the Cowboys didn’t play this

differently. Why not take the precedent of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger back in 2010? He got the

same 6-game suspension for multiple accusations of sexual assault. It was eventually reduced to 4

games, during which the Steelers went 3-1. They would win the AFC that year, making it to the Super

Bowl, a highly unlikely accomplishment had they taken the Cowboys approach to Elliott’s situation this

year. Even if Elliott’s suspension were not reduced, the 6 games would be over by now. They could have

gone 3-3 (their record with him after 6) without him. They would have him back, healthy and rested for

the second half of the season, including both games against the high-flying, first place Eagles. Now that is all in doubt, as are the Cowboys’ playoffs hopes.

So why didn’t they take that approach? I can only come up with 3 possible reasons:

1) Jerry Jones is used to getting his way and would not back down;

2) Elliot, like most professional athletes, is programmed not to back down and is engaged in this process in the same way; or

3) He actually did not abuse her.

I do not know which one, two, or all three might have been at the heart of the Cowboys’ strategy.

That disturbs me but not nearly as much as the fact that this saga has given a platform to misogynist and

apologist for those who abuse women.

 

Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports