The uber-talented but embattled wide receiver Josh Gordon recently announced he would be stepping away from football in order to focus on his mental health. Gordon has battled substance abuse issues for the duration of his professional career and decided to step away before an indefinite suspension was handed down after he violated the terms of his reinstatement.
Noted ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith weighed in on the situation but offered a rather tone-deaf response to the seriousness of addiction and mental health. Smith stated:
“I don’t want to come across as harsh or unsympathetic to Josh Gordon, but let’s be very, very clear here. You’ve got a whole bunch of people out there talking about ‘It’s a disease, it’s a disease’ because it’s an addiction. Well, I’m not going to debunk or eliminate the notion that it’s a disease, but how did it become one? Because you can’t get addicted to something you never try. This isn’t cancer. This isn’t Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or something like that. This is self-inflicted.”
The highly controversial ESPN personality Sage Steele seconded Smith's remarks on Twitter, "#ICYMI 'You can’t get addicted to something you’ve never tried.' I TOTALLY agree w @stephenasmith take on #joshgordon. And yes, we both have firsthand, heartbreaking knowledge of the devastation of addiction. But accountability is crucial. Praying he can recover."
However, Stephen A. received a lot more criticism for his remarks with NFL legend Cris Carter calling out Smith's comments saying that he totally disagrees with him on this because he's had his own battles with addiction.
Source: twitter.com
