As the NFL and other sports leagues have gone all-in on the legal sports gambling space, with massive sponsorship deals and constant ads during games, it has come with the continued caveat that players can’t partake in the action as it pertains to their sport.
Gambling controversies in sports aren’t anything new, from the Black Sox scandal to Pete Rose to Tim Donaghy, but with the money now being tied directly to the league, increased scrutiny comes with it. On Monday, word broke that the NFL had its first issue with a player not following those rules.
The league has suspended Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for a year for gambling on NFL games during the season.
Here is the full release from the NFL on Calvin Ridley: https://t.co/VgLXUE0bDb pic.twitter.com/HR6YOjd2J0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2022
It seems to be an issue of Ridley betting on non-Falcons games while he was away from the team, which is still disallowed by the league but a bit less scandalous than if he were wagering on his own team. It is in that area that the waters get very murky and can lead to game-fixing allegations. That is the major reason sports leagues prohibit players from betting on any games, so there isn’t any temptation to toss a few dollars on their own squads, win or lose, and raise questions about the integrity of the games.
Ridley, unfortunately, finds himself in a position to be made an example out of by the NFL to dissuade any other players from doing the same, and now he finds himself out of a paycheck for a year.