Claim: NFL suspends Patriots’ Gordon for substance abuse violation.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Josh Gordon
text: use. Gordon entered the NFL's substance abuse program after pleading guilty to a driving while impaired charge in September 2014 and was prohibited from consuming alcohol during his time in the program. Gordon was officially suspended from the NFL for one year on February 3, 2015 and was not eligible to return until the start of the 2016 season. On January 20, 2016, Gordon applied to the league for reinstatement. His request was denied in March when it was reported that he had failed another drug test. On July 25, 2016, Gordon was reinstated by the NFL. He was allowed

title: 2015 Cleveland Browns season
text: Josh Gordon was facing a year-long suspension following a fifth failed drug test, this time for alcohol. This follows a 10-game suspension in 2014 for testing positive for marijuana. On February 3, the league imposed the suspension without pay for at least one year, possibly indefinitely. His earliest return would be training camp for the 2016 season. On February 3, 2015, quarterback Johnny Manziel voluntarily entered a rehab facility for dependence on alcohol. He exited the facility on April 12, shortly prior to the beginning of offseason workouts. In an incident widely dubbed as Textgate, it was announced on February

title: 2016 Cleveland Browns season
text: the NFL due to repeated violations of the league's substance abuse policy, causing him to miss the entire 2015 season. On April 11, it was revealed that Gordon had failed another drug test, and on April 12, the league announced that Gordon's appeal had been denied. He was eligible to reapply on August 1. On July 25, the NFL announced that Gordon would be reinstated on a conditional basis, and can stay with the team during a four-game ban to begin the season. The Browns’ opponents in this season were almost identical to that of their 2004 season when according

title: Josh Gordon
text: amidst the new NFL drug policy. Gordon was officially reinstated on November 17. On December 27, 2014, exactly one year removed from being selected into the Pro Bowl, the Browns suspended Gordon from the final game of the 2014 season due to a violation of team rules. Due to Gordon's suspensions, he only played five games in the 2014 season and caught 24 passes for 303 yards with no touchdowns. Gordon was suspended for the entire 2015 season due to violating the league's substance abuse policy. In January 2015, Gordon faced another year-long suspension due to testing positive for alcohol

title: 2008 New England Patriots season
text: Faulk was later suspended for the first game of the 2008 regular season for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. On April 27, according to "The Boston Globe", offensive lineman Nick Kaczur was arrested in Whitestown, New York, when police discovered Kaczur had a "small amount of controlled substance for which he did not have a prescription," which was later identified as oxycodone. Kaczur was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor. In May, the article states Kaczur participated in a Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation, wearing a hidden recording device

title: 2014 Cleveland Browns season
text: due to a fourth failed drug test. On July 4, 2014 Josh Gordon was arrested for DWI in Raleigh, NC. On August 27, the suspension was upheld after Gordon's appeal. On September 12, after the NFL and the NFLPA approved a new drug testing program, Gordon's suspension was retroactively reduced to 10 games. On November 17, his reinstatement was officially announced and he returned Week 12 at the Georgia Dome, against the Atlanta Falcons, on November 23. The Browns had no games west of the Mississippi River in 2014, by virtue of their conference rotation with NFC South and AFC

title: Josh Gordon
text: to participate in training camp but was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 regular season. On September 29, 2016, Gordon left the Cleveland Browns to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. He was one week away from reinstatement to the NFL, serving his previous sentence of four regular season games. In a press statement, Gordon wrote, "After careful thought and deep consideration I've decided that I need to step away from pursuing my return to the Browns and my football career to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility. This is the right decision for me and one that I

title: 2008 New England Patriots season
text: was later recovered in a dumpster near Andrews' apartment. Andrews was released on July 1. On February 22, running back Kevin Faulk was issued a misdemeanor summons after he was found with four marijuana cigarettes at a Lil Wayne concert in Lafayette, Louisiana. Upon returning to New England, Faulk passed a drug test and did not have to enter the NFL's substance abuse program. Faulk pleaded no contest to the charge on July 8 and was sentenced to a five-month suspended jail term, given one year of probation, fined, and ordered to complete community service and substance abuse treatment programs.

title: History of the NFL Commissioner
text: defensive lineman Tank Johnson was suspended months later due to his conduct involving weapon ownership and drunk driving. On August 31, 2007, Goodell suspended Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson for five games and fined him $100,000, and suspended New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison four games without pay, after they admitted the use of banned substances for medical purposes and to accelerate healing, respectively. The league indicated to Wilson that his more severe penalty was because they held "people in authority in higher regard than people on the field." On September 13, 2007, Goodell disciplined the New England Patriots

title: New England Patriots
text: situation and that the Patriots staff intentionally deflated the footballs. A later study by the American Enterprise Institute called the evidence and methodology of the Wells report "deeply flawed" and "unreliable". In the aftermath of the incident, the NFL suspended Brady without pay for the first four games of the 2015 season, fined the Patriots $1 million, and forced them to forfeit their 2016 first round draft pick and 2017 fourth round draft pick. Brady appealed his suspension, which was eventually vacated by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, only for the United States

title: Will Hill
text: of the 2013 season for violating the NFL substance abuse policy; his suspension ended on September 30. Following his second suspension, Hill underwent drug rehabilitation in March and April in Boston, and followed that with outpatient meetings in New Jersey. On December 21, 2013, Hill was arrested in New Jersey on a warrant for outstanding child support payments. Despite the arrest, Hill still played that Sunday against the Detroit Lions. During the game, he intercepted a pass thrown by Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter and scored on a 38-yard touchdown to tie the game and force overtime. In overtime,

title: History of the NFL Commissioner
text: Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, against whom child-abuse charges were filed. On May 11, 2015, the NFL announced that it suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady without pay for four games of the upcoming season based on "substantial and credible evidence" that Brady knew Patriots employees were deflating footballs and that he failed to cooperate with investigators. The Patriots were also fined $1 million and lost their first round pick in the 2016 NFL draft and their fourth round pick in the 2017 NFL draft. On May 14, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) filed an appeal

title: National Football League player conduct policy
text: abuse policy. He would return and play the rest of the season with the Steelers. During the suspension, he spent time in rehab in Houston. Bryant was charged with violating the substance abuse policy again, and suspended, this time for the entire 2016 NFL season. On August 11, 2017, the NFL suspended Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for the first six games of the 2017 season, despite the lead NFL investigator in the case reportedly recommending no suspension. His suspension stems from various off the field incidents including being accused of domestic violence in 2016 by his ex-girlfriend who

title: Josh Gordon
text: hope will enable me to gain full control of my life and continue on a path to reach my full potential as a person. I appreciate the support of the NFL, NFLPA, the Browns, my teammates, my agent and the community through this extremely challenging process." On March 1, 2017, Gordon again applied to the league for reinstatement, but was denied on May 11, 2017. On November 1, Gordon was finally reinstated, but on a conditional basis, meaning that he would be eligible to return in Week 13. He was officially activated off the Commissioner's Exempt list on November 30,

title: Josh Gordon
text: receiving yards. On December 26, 2013, he was named the Cleveland Chapter PFWA Player of the Year following the season. On December 27, 2013, Gordon was voted to his first Pro Bowl selection. In just 14 games, he finished the 2013 season with a league leading 1,646 receiving yards, and was named first-team All-Pro. On July 5, 2014, Gordon was arrested for driving while impaired in Raleigh, North Carolina. On August 27, 2014, Gordon acknowledged that the NFL suspended him for one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. On September 19, 2014, his suspension was reduced to 10 games

title: Josh Gordon
text: unable to play for the next three seasons. Following a lengthy rehabilitation period, he was reinstated midway through the 2017 season. In September 2018, he was traded to the New England Patriots. In December 2018, Gordon said he would leave football to focus on his mental health. Josh Gordon was born to Elaine and Herald Gordon in Houston, Texas on April 13, 1991, and has two brothers. Gordon is of Haitian descent. Gordon attended Lamar High School in Houston, where he played football, basketball, and ran track. He played basketball as a sophomore. In football, he caught 20 passes for

title: Johnny Manziel
text: for him. I'm doing my job, and I'm going to move on. If I have to bury him, I'll bury him." On June 30, 2016, he was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. On September 5, Manziel returned to his alma mater to take classes. On December 2, 2016, Manziel and prosecutors finalized a plea agreement in which Manziel agreed to undergo counseling and have his conduct monitored by prosecutors for up to a year or face prosecution. Manziel is a friend of rap artist Drake and in April

title: Roger Goodell
text: of his conduct involving weapon ownership and drunk driving. On August 31, 2007, Goodell suspended Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson for five games and fined him US$100,000, and suspended New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison for four games without pay, after they admitted the use of banned substances for medical purposes and to accelerate healing, respectively. The league indicated to Wilson that his more severe penalty was because they held "people in authority in higher regard than people on the field." Goodell has also imposed suspensions on the following players for conduct: In addition to suspensions, Goodell has also

title: 2015 NFL season
text: suspended by the league as of the season's first week. Most of these suspensions were for violations of the league's performance-enhancing drug (PED), substance abuse and personal conduct policies. Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer was suspended by the league for the first four games of the 2015 season due to a texting scandal which occurred in . The league found that Farmer had used a cellphone to communicate with personnel on the Browns' sideline "on multiple occasions during games" in violation of league rules which prohibit such communications. In addition to Farmer's suspension, the team was assessed a fine

title: Datone Jones
text: On July 2, 2015, the NFL announced that they would suspend Jones for 1 game for violating the league policy against substances of abuse. It was also reported that he was cited for marijuana a day after the Packers 28-22 overtime collapse in Seattle. He played 15 games during the regular season while also appearing in both postseason contests. He posted 20 tackles (14 solo), three sacks, three passes defended, and one kickoff return for nine yards. He had 13 quarterback hits, good for No. 2 on the team and 12 quarterback pressures that ranked him No. 5. His three