When we first saw the talk last week that some Cleveland fans were angry with Browns receiver Josh Gordon because he was partying with LeBron James after the Miami Heat won the NBA title, we didn’t mention it here. Gordon is a grown man who can hang out with whoever he wants, and the fact that James is an unpopular man in his former hometown of Cleveland doesn’t mean Gordon can’t be friends with him.
But longtime Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com reports that concerns in Cleveland about Gordon go a lot deeper than just hanging out with a basketball player who spurned the Cavaliers.
According to Grossi’s reporting, “something happened to Gordon” after his rookie season, and he “was influenced by the wrong people.”
Meanwhile, Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Gordon has given team management reason to question his maturity with his actions.
Former Browns center LeCharles Bentley told Gordon on Twitter that the way he acts is “not a good look” for a guy who has just been suspended for violating the NFL substance abuse policy.
“YOU’RE suspended, YOU let YOUR team down but it’s a priority to party with guys WAY out of your tax bracket,” Bentley wrote. “I’d cut you, resign you, cut you again, resign you, then bench you.”
At the moment, all indications are that the Browns still see Gordon being a big part of the offense, starting in Week Three after his two-game suspension ends. But after an impressive rookie season, Gordon’s first NFL offseason isn’t going well.