The return of oft-suspended wide receiver Josh Gordon. The controversial anti-police Instagram post of running back Isaiah Crowell. The suspension of defensive end Armonty Bryant.
Notorious party boy Johnny Manziel has left the Browns, but off-field distractions have not.
So owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have challenged their players to eliminate them. At coach Hue Jackson's request, the Haslams addressed the team Thursday when it reported to training camp.
"There were two basic messages: one was preparation, and, two, this is our expectations of you as a Cleveland Brown both on and off the field," Jimmy Haslam said Sunday during a 17 {-minute news conference before the third practice of camp. "We listed three or four things that were important in preparation, and one of them is eliminate all the distractions from your life, and that can run the gamut.
"We talked about what a privilege it is to play in the NFL, the NFL shield, how they needed to set (an) example for young kids all around the country, people all around the country, particularly here in Northeastern Ohio where everybody loves the Browns, and we have high expectations, and we're not going to put up with those kind of distractions."
With those orders in mind, the microscope is on Gordon, Crowell and Bryant.
Jackson, head of football operations Sashi Brown, Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta and Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry consulted the Haslams while deciding whether to welcome Gordon back when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated the 2013 All-Pro selection July 25. Haslam said the team's brass concluded "Josh deserves a restart," even though he's missed 27 of the past 32 games because of recurring violations of the league's substance-abuse policy.
"Everybody in the organization is going to do everything they can to help Josh be successful, but Josh, at the same time, ultimately has to make good decisions," Haslam said. "If he does, then he'll be with us a long time. If he doesn't, he understands the repercussions."
Haslam provided a glimpse into how the Browns worked with the NFL to aid Gordon's reinstatement. He and Goodell spoke June 17 when the commissioner visited team headquarters. They spoke by phone for 20-25 minutes the day Goodell granted Gordon re-entry, and Haslam expressed gratitude for Goodell's allowing Gordon to stay with the Browns during his four-game suspension to start the 2016 season rather than being exiled from the facility.
"These players need structure, particularly ones who have struggled a little bit with life issues," Haslam said. "I think having Josh in the building will be a really good thing for him."
The week before Goodell's ruling, he met with Gordon for an hour and a half in New York, Haslam said, adding special adviser Jim Brown "had some input" on the case with the league.
Haslam considers it "a blessing" that Gordon won't practice for at least a couple of weeks because he reported to camp with a quadriceps injury.
"I think Josh needs to come in here, get reoriented, learn his teammates, learn a new coaching staff, learn the plays and get his life settled," Haslam said.
Haslam called Crowell's decision to post an illustration of a masked man slashing the throat of a police officer "terribly unfortunate" and "inexcusable." Crowell passed the image along in mid-July after police in Louisiana and Minnesota fatally shot black men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and before five officers in Dallas were killed by a gunman during a protest march.
Crowell has since issued at least three public apologies, promised to donate his first game check worth about $35,000 to the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation and attended the funeral of slain Dallas police officer Patrick Zamarripa.
"We know Crow well. That's not who he is. He made a big mistake; he's paid a large penalty for it," Haslam said. "I think the true test of character for all of us is when we get knocked down _ or maybe knock ourselves down in this case _ how you get up and handle it is how you judge people.
"And I think Crow, I'm not sure he could have done anything better since he did that terrible incident, and we're proud of how Isaiah's responded."
Bryant has been suspended for the first four regular-season games of 2016 for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs and faces additional discipline after pleading guilty to attempted drug possession last week. Sashi Brown said Thursday the team has no plans to cut Bryant "at this point."
"Armonty understands very well our expectations," Haslam said. "Unfortunately, the way the league rules (for performance-enhancing drugs) work, he cannot be in the building during those four weeks (he's suspended). He has come in here so far and worked very hard and been a model citizen."
Although ownership is calling for Browns players to wipe out off-field diversions, they'll never disappear completely. And in the midst of this discussion, it's impossible to ignore the ongoing rebate fraud case targeting Haslam's Pilot Flying J truck-stop empire.
Nevertheless, Haslam said he believes he has the right leader in place to guide the team through disturbances.
"Hue has been with some franchises where he's had some players _ you're not going to have 53 model citizens every year _ and I think he understands that," Haslam said. "I think he knows how to deal with those people as men and make them not only better players, but better men."
About the Author
