On Monday, March 7, the NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, Calvin Ridley, for at least a year after an investigation found that he had been gambling on games.
The league stated that the bets took place during a five-day period in November 2021, after he had announced his decision to step away from football for his mental wellbeing on October 31.
According to a report from CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, Ridley was caught because “he placed a legal mobile bet in Florida with Hard Rock. They notified Genius Sports, who oversees betting integrity for the NFL.”
Jones added that “Ridley placed 3, 5 and 8 game parlay bets that did include the Falcons [to win].”
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Ridley Reacts to his Suspension
After five months of silence, Ridley fired off some tweets a few days before the rest of the Twitter world found out about his situation.
[Football] is life, Ridley wrote in his first tweet in five months.
🏈 Is life
After the tweet began to go viral, he followed up with just a laughing face.
March 5 was a quiet day for Ridley but he returned to tweet, “I learn from my Ls,” on March 6.
I learn from my Ls
The news of his suspension broke on March 7 and Ridley reacted by tweeting, “I bet 1500 total I don’t have a gambling problem.”
I bet 1500 total I don’t have a gambling problem
He followed that tweet with another:
I couldn’t even watch football at that point
He sprinkled some positivity in with another tweet:
Just gone be more healthy when I come back
And admitted he was in the wrong, but strongly believes one year is too long:
I know I was wrong But I’m getting 1 year lol
Then topped it off with “if you know me you know my character.”
If you know me you know my character
The Falcons also took to Twitter to release a statement on Ridley.
“We were first made aware of the league’s investigation on Feb. 9. We have cooperated fully with the investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions. We are moving forward in the 2022 season with the decision that was made. With the decision that was made by the NFL, any further questions on the investigation should be directed to the league office.”
Team statement on the NFL investigation of Calvin Ridley. t.co/dzbRCPRlmR
What the NFL’s Gambling Policy Says
The NFL’s gambling policy for league players, coaches, referees, etc. makes it clear about what is prohibited.
Section 2 discusses gambling activities and here is what the policy says under “Betting on Football:
“All NFL Personnel are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet, whether directly or indirectly through a third-party on any NFL game, practice or other event. This includes betting on game outcome, statistics, scores, performance of any individual participant or any kind of “proposition bet” on which wagering is offered.”
As far as punishment goes, the policy states that it’s a “case-by-case” basis the banishment from the NFL for life is included:
“Apparent or alleged violations of this Policy by NFL Personnel will continue to be decided by the Commissioner or his designee on a case-by-case basis. Violations of this Policy constitute conduct detrimental to the League and will subject the involved Club and/or person(s) to appropriate disciplinary action by the Commissioner. Such disciplinary action may include, without limitation, severe penalties, up to and including a fine, termination of employment and/or banishment from the NFL for life.”
Ridley may petition for reinstatement on or after February 15, 2023.
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Falcons’ Calvin Ridley Reacts to NFL Suspension