The NFL took over sports headlines on Monday afternoon when the league announced a one-year suspension for Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for betting on NFL games during last season.
The bets in question were placed during a five-day period while Ridley was away from the team, but he did reportedly bet on the Falcons, although there was no evidence of inside information (beyond, you know, that he’s a player for the team and knows a lot about them) or other Falcons being aware and it impacting the game. Ridley apparently placed three separate parlays, including the Falcons to beat the Jaguars (which they did) in those bets.
Per a source informed of the investigation, Ridley placed three parlays (3-, 5- and 8-teams) and bet on the Falcons to win. All of the bets were placed between Nov. 23-28 — the Falcons beat Jacksonville on Nov. 28. All of the bets were via a mobile app in Florida.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) March 7, 2022
Much of the talk about this story focused on the NFL’s partnerships with gambling companies and what it meant going forward, but Ridley decided to tweet through it by defending himself against the idea that he has a gambling problem in rather hilarious fashion.
I bet 1500 total I don’t have a gambling problem
— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) March 7, 2022
I know I was wrong But I’m getting 1 year lol
— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) March 7, 2022
Listen, this is a man who makes millions of dollars so that is, in fact, not much money for him to bet, but this is exactly the sentence someone with a gambling problem would say, which led to plenty of jokes.
Moreso, the fact that he was only betting $1500 — one would assume $500 on each parlay — means he was risking a lot, as he’ll lose out on $11 million next year for the chance at a rather marginal gain. If nothing else, the league has made its message clear about how it will handle these kinds of situations and players will need to make sure they keep any sports betting they do to outside the NFL.
English (US) ·