Addiction specialist weighs in on Blackmon's suspension

Experts say substance is relapsing disease

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Channel 4 spoke with many Jaguars fans Friday night that still cannot understand why a young man like Justin Blackmon, with so much going for himself, would throw it all away.

On the field, Blackmon is considered a shining star for the Jaguars offense, but on Friday the public found out that Jaguars' number 14 struggles with a battle off the field.

The NFL announced Friday that Blackmon would be suspended indefinitely because he failed a drug test.

Although it is still not clear why Blackmon failed the drug test, it is now the third time that he has broken the NFL's substance abuse policy.

RELATED: Jags' Blackmon suspended indefinitely

Addiction experts say substance is a relapsing disease, and that money and fame sometimes makes addiction even more dangerous.

"Especially when there is so much money available to him, and he probably has a group of people around him who enable his use," said Senior Vice President of Development with Gateway, Karen Tozzi.

The 23-year-old is no stranger to past troubles that landed him in the hot seat. Last June, Blackmon was arrested in Oklahoma during a traffic stop after his blood alcohol level was reportedly three times the legal limit.

In a tweet, Blackmon apologized for his actions saying, "I want to apologize to Mr. Khan, teammates, coaches for not utilizing resources that I was provided to overcome my challenges."

Football fans are disappointed in Blackmon, especially fans who hoped that Blackmon was going to help turn the team around.

"When we got him on the field, he started playing better. You hoped that he would be the one guy that would not mess up," said Charlie Broward.

"He's gotten in trouble over and over again. It's depressing because the Jags are a terrible team and we could cause all the help we can get," said Ryan Funderburk.

"A lot of times when something like this happens, it jolts you into making some good choices on getting treatment, but he's got to work at it every day," said Tozzi.

The Jaguars organization said Blackmon can apply to be reinstated before the 2014 season.