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Remember the names of those who most criticized the acquisition of the great receiver Josh Gordon by the New England Patriots.
No, not to take them out later Old takes on exhibit on Twitter, but because that's exactly what they want. They want to take advantage of Gordon's next fall. They want to be right to say that Gordon will fail another screening test, be suspended, go to rehab or leave the NFL again to work on his mental health as he has done many times with the Cleveland Browns.
They want the Patriots to be mistaken by taking a misguided risk by allowing Gordon to enter their locker room.
But that in itself is stupid. Do you know what is fun? Watch Tom Brady throwing passes to Josh Gordon. And it's stupid to hate pleasure.
Gordon got passes from Brandon Weeden, Thaddeus Lewis, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, Deshone Kizer and Tyrod Taylor in Cleveland. And he still managed 180 catches for 3,106 yards with 16 touchdowns in less than three match seasons.
His 2013 season was even more incredible than you remember – he played two games over 230 consecutive yards – and he looked like he was dressing up at the end of the 2017 season.
Do you know what is fun? Encouraging a guy who has faced addiction and mental health issues, to succeed in life and the NFL.
Gordon has apparently said and done all the right things since last November. He talked about his problems at GQ and Uninterrupted.
After capturing 18 passes for 335 yards with a touchdown in five games last season, Gordon retired from football to deal with his mental health and anxiety, which has caused addiction problems in the past. (So, yeah, all those jokes about Gordon who drink and smoke?) Not really funny.
Gordon returned to the Browns in August and was traded to the Patriots after injuring his hamstring during a photo shoot last week. Is this all there is in history? That's all that has happened so far.
Do you know what's decidedly not fun and actually pretty stupid? Comparing Gordon (not a murderer) to Aaron Hernandez (a murderer), like 98.5, Mike Felger of the Sports Hub did it during his radio show on Wednesday.
"For me (the comparison is) Aaron Hernandez," said Felger. "It's like," This guy is bad news. "It's like," do not touch that guy with a ten-foot pole. And no one is going to touch this guy with a 10-foot post except for you. Like, that's the only one – there's no perfect analogy, but in terms of the level of toxicity or 'staying away from this guy', Hernandez is the only one I can think about it is close.
"… Eight times suspended by the team, the league or refused to reinstate in six years. I'm not saying he's a murderer or a bad guy. … But let me tell you what motivates this: It just came out in this book (Ian) O'Connor where Urban Meyer told at least one NFL team – and you would think that he would have had to tell the Patriots since he's so close to Bill: "Do not strive to touch this guy." Urban Meyer told a team. "Do not erase touching this guy."
Felger's logic is confused. "Gordon is not a bad guy, but hey, let's compare him to a murderer, anyway." There's nothing better than throwing Hernandez's name to a shock.
NESN.com contacted a source who worked with Gordon. The source was concerned about Gordon's responsibility and constitution to stay on track. He said that Gordon was not a bad guy but had a bad education, he was still struggling with drugs and he had no rules. The source did not think that Gordon would eventually strike with the Patriots, but that perhaps they would receive three to six productive games of the great receiver.
Maybe this last part is true. Maybe New England squandered a fifth-round pick that they probably would have traded before next year's draft. Or maybe Gordon can reverse the situation. And it will be fun to look for Gordon's person as he takes a fresh start and changes settings in Foxboro.
It's certainly a lot more fun than sticking to a guy's downfall to prove a point.
Vignette via Philip G. Pavely / USA TODAY Sports Images
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