Summary
- Calvin Ridley places bets on NFL league games
- NFL finds out and suspends Ridley for the entire season
- Ridley says he bet $1,500 but will now lose $11.1 million
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended indefinitely by the National Football League (NFL) for betting on league games.
Ridley has been suspended until the end of the 2022 season for jeopardizing the integrity of the sport through his actions.
Ridley admitted on Twitter that he had bet about $1,500 on several NFL games. However, he denied that he was a problem gambler.
I bet 1500 total I don’t have a gambling problem
— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) March 7, 2022
The football player will lose $11.1 million as he will sit out the current season. The player had a candid approach towards the penal action and acknowledged that he was wrong to gamble on league games. He can apply for reinstatement from 23 February 2023.
After a league investigation established that Ridley had bet on league games while he took a break to address his mental health problems, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him. The NFL said that Ridley bet during November 2021 for five days. However, the investigation also found that Ridley’s betting activity had no bearing on the league games. There was no evidence that Ridley’s teammates, coaches, or staff knew about his betting.
In a statement released on 7 March 2022, the Atlanta Falcons said that they were informed about the league’s investigation into Ridley’s activity on February 9. Furthermore, the team affirmed their full cooperation with the investigatory process. The Atlanta Falcons expressed their support for the disciplinary action initiated against Ridley.
Goodell, in a letter reprimanding Ridley, said that his action put the integrity of the game in peril and hurt the confidence of the public in professional football. Along with jeopardizing the reputation of his fellow teammates, Ridley’s actions were a grave breach of the league policy. However, Goodell appreciated the player’s frank admission of his actions and his prompt appearance for an interview.
Ridley’s future in the Falcons was dubious even before his suspension. The pro-footballer was absent during the last two months of the 2021 season before the Falcons lost to the Carolina Panthers on October 31. Ridley later explained on Twitter that he had stepped away from the game for the time to focus on his mental health.
NFL Commissioner Goodell has meted out suspensions to errant players before Ridley. Arizona Cardinals’ Josh Shaw was handed an indefinite suspension for betting on league games in 2019. Disciplinary actions against the NFL players have been in place since 1963 when the erstwhile commissioner Pete Rozelle handed out suspensions to Green Bay’s Paul Hornung and Alex Karras of Detroit, who were singled out for their betting activity and their association with gamblers.
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