BEREA, Ohio - Backup safety and special teams player Johnson Bademosi is the Cleveland Browns player rep for the NFL Players Association and will be voting on behalf of the Browns on a new NFL drug policy when that vote comes.
Amidst numerous reports and much speculation, Bademosi said Thursday he doesn't know what will happen -- and that there are some things he can't share. As for a vote that would lead to a new policy and potentially to reducing or ending the one-year suspension Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is serving, Bademosi said he hopes a vote will take place "hopefully soon."
That probably wouldn't be Thursday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers playing at the Baltimore Ravens. Asked if "soon" meant Friday or next week, Bademosi again said he didn't know.
"Hopefully sooner than later," he said.
Bademosi said he's been communicating with his teammates about what's been said on conference calls with other NFLPA reps. Asked if he felt a new proposal would pass, Bademosi said "I would hope so." He gave the same answer when asked if he knew for sure that Gordon would be reinstated under a new policy.
With Gordon working at a Northeast Ohio car dealership and barred from team activities, the Browns have more at stake in the short term than most teams.
"I want to win, as does everybody else in this locker room, as do everybody else who has a guy out for this reason or that reason," Bademosi said. "We're trying to get it resolved as quickly as possible because it affects a lot of guys who are out and who are still in here (this locker room).
"The league and our union are going back and forth on a couple issues. We'll vote on it soon. I certainly hope everybody will be reinstated."
Earlier Thursday, Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said he'd be willing to play Gordon this Sunday if things got resolved.
That doesn't seem likely, but nobody really knows.
In an interview with the website ondecker.com that surfaced Wednesday, Gordon said he does not believe he has a drug problem and that he went on his "own accord" to a rehab facility in California this summer after his July DUI arrest.
He was not asked by the interviewer if he thinks he'll be reinstated this season but confirmed prior reports that he tested negative 70 times before his positive test for marijuana that led to the suspension. The amount of marijuana in his system is a reported point in the potential new drug policy and potentially stands as grounds for a reversal or reduction of the suspension.
