When the New England Patriots traded for Josh Gordon, they prepared a security plan to ensure they got the best out of the beleaguered wide receiver. As per ESPN, the Pats' front office actually sent "shadows" to monitor his behavior off the field, up until the moment of his departure from the team earlier this week. Gordon, dealing with undisclosed mental health issues for some time now, decided to temporarily walk away from the NFL, in order to focus on those issues, all the power to him.
"I take my mental health very seriously at this point to ensure I remain able to perform at the highest level. I have recently felt like I could have a better grasp on things mentally. With that said, I will be stepping away from the football field for a bit to focus on my mental health," Gordon published as his 'see you soon' memo to the NFL community, on Tuesday afternoon.
The ESPN report indicates that Josh Gordon was seemingly aware of the team's quote-unquote espionage, to the point where he actually took measures to elude the chaperonage, during which time he successfully dropped out of view when the Pats had a bye weekend on November 18. Josh Gordon's off-field conduct in the past two years put him in the NFL's proverbial doghouse on countless occasions, all for substance abuse violations likely associated with his mental health condition(s). I do hope that Gordon's employers give him the resources he needs to get his personal life in order. The high pressure of an NFL career is evidently not conducive to alleviating mental illness or fatigue.
