Josh Gordon Addresses Charles Barkley, Cris Carter, and Stephen A. Smith in Open Letter, Reveals How He Failed Recent Drug Test

Josh Gordon just addressed his harshest critics in an open letter.

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Josh Gordon is sick and tired of people like Charles Barkley, Cris Carter, and Stephen A. Smith writing him off because of his off-the-field issues. So the Browns wide receiver—who reportedly failed a drug test a few days after the end of Cleveland's 2014-15 NFL season—just wrote an open letter on The Cauldron calling them out for speaking about his alleged drug and alcohol problems without having any first-hand knowledge of what he's actually going through.

"Thank you for your recent outpouring of concern about my well being," Gordon writes in the letter's opening paragraph, before speaking briefly about how much the support has meant to him. "The thing is, though, you don't even know me."

From there, he addresses all three of the men listed above individually. While addressing Barkley, Gordon writes, "Respectfully, your worry over my 'problems' with substance abuse and my twisting descent into darkness and, apparently, my impending death, is misplaced—mostly because you have very little idea what you are talking about."

While addressing Carter—a former drug user who called for the Browns to release Gordon last year, much like the Eagles released him at the start of his NFL career—Gordon writes, "You also stated as fact that 'we are dealing with addiction here.' Know this: We are not dealing with anything, Cris. We are not the same. Not at all."

And while addressing Smith, who said he was "done" with Gordon during a recent episode of ESPN First Take, Gordon writes, "You're done with me, Stephen A.? That presumes we ever actually got started. How, exactly, can you be 'done' with someone you have never had a meaningful conversation with beyond a quick First Take spot?"

In the letter, Gordon also tries to make amends for his recent failed drug test—"I have failed myself. Again," he writes—and explains exactly what caused him to fail it in the first place. He claims that he's not really a drinker but that he had a few drinks aboard a flight with several teammates while on the way to Las Vegas earlier this month.

"I had two beers and two drinks," writes Gordon, who was banned from using alcohol after getting hit with a DWI charge last summer. "It was the first time I had consumed so much as a drop of alcohol since July 4, 2014, the day of the DWI."

You can read Gordon's entire letter here. Regardless of what you think about what he says in the letter—some people are praising him for addressing his recent issues head-on, while others are criticizing him for addressing his harshest critics in the letter rather than apologizing to his fans—it's good to see him being so open and honest about his current situation. It's a situation that we hope he's able to put behind him so that he can eventually continue his NFL career.

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[via The Cauldron]

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