NFL reportedly investigating 'second wave' of player gambling policy violations

[Dafinch]

NFL reportedly investigating 'second wave' of player gambling policy violations

The league suspended 5 players in April for various NFL gambling violations

www.yahoo.com

NFL reportedly investigating 'second wave' of player gambling policy violations​

5 players were suspended in April for sports betting​

Tyler Greenawalt
·Staff writer
Mon, May 22, 2023 at 8:19 AM PDT

Five players have already been suspended for sports betting this year. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
The NFL's crackdown on sports betting among players appears to be ratcheting up.
A month after the league suspended five players for gambling, the NFL is reportedly investigating more potential violations, according to ESPN's David Purdum, ahead of the start of the 2023 season.
It's unclear exactly what or who could face punishment, but the league already laid out a blueprint for how it handles players and staff who either bet on games or place bets at team facilities.
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley served what ended up being a one-year suspension in 2022 after the NFL determined he bet on NFL games while away from the Atlanta Falcons (he was eventually traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars). He was originally handed an indefinite suspension.
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Detroit Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus, Lions defensive back C.J. Moore and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney will serve a similar suspension after the league found that, like Ridley, they bet on NFL games. Lions receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill were only suspended for six regular season games because they placed bets at NFL facilities on non-NFL games.
New York Jets wide receivers coach Miles Austin was also suspended for at least one year in 2022 for placing bets on table games and non-NFL games at team facilities. Former Arizona Cardinals safety Josh Shaw was one of the first players suspended after the NFL said he bet on games in 2019. He served a one-year suspension in 2021 but last played in the USFL for the Birmingham Stallions.

NFL's dual role as promoter and denier of sports betting​

The NFL accepted the world of sports betting when it was legalized in 2018 and has eventually attached itself to several major partners in big ways. Gambling information is intertwined with in-game analysis like never before, and sportsbooks can even operate inside of team stadiums.
It's a juxtaposition that appears both hypocritical and greedy given the NFL's anti-gambling policy, one that players and team staff are trained with written notices and meetings. But now, issues are catching up as more people are being suspended for doing things that are simultaneously shoved in their faces daily.
The league quickly caught on to how players violate its policies. Earlier this month, the NFLPA reportedly sent a memo to agents warning them that the league can track their players' use of sports betting apps, which played a role in April's suspensions. This geo-tracking software is also how the NFL caught Ridley in 2022.
So while the NFL rakes in sponsorship money and remains relevant in a growing market, the players continue to be swept up and face the consequences.

 

[HacheMan]

Hmmm this will be interesting

 

[peanuts]

How about the refs? are they also going to check the refs?

 

[Michelangelo]

I don't see any big names on that list. Would the NFL have the balls to suspend, oh I don't know, say Aaron Rogers for a year?

Watch all hell break loose if something like that happens.

 

[Greenbacks]

NFL toughens ban for betting on own team under new policy.​

The NFL is modifying the league's gambling policies that will punish players more harshly for betting on their own teams while also amending rules that will allow some players, including Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams, to return to the field quicker.
Under the new policy, as disclosed in a memo from commissioner Roger Goodell that was obtained by ESPN on Friday, a player who places a bet involving his own team will be suspended at least two years. Bets placed by players on any NFL game will result in at least a one-year suspension.
Betting on non-NFL sports while at a team facility or on team-related travel will now result in a two-game suspension for a first violation, six games for a second violation and at least one year for a third.
This will allow Williams, Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nick Petit-Frere and free agent Stanley Berryhill to be reinstated effective Monday. All three had been originally suspended six games and will end up serving four.
Multiple players -- including Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus, Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney and three members of the Indianapolis Colts -- had been suspended indefinitely under the previous policy for betting on the NFL. They are set to seek reinstatement after the 2023 season.
"We periodically review the NFL Gambling Policy to ensure that it is responsive to changing circumstances and fully addresses our commitment to protect the integrity of the game," Goodell wrote in the memo. "... The revised gambling policy that we are issuing today provides that clarity and focus, and gives clear guidance to players about the consequences of violating the policy."
The revised policy applies to players only.
Williams' father, James, told ESPN's Eric Woodyard that Friday's news was unexpected for the family and that they feel "great" about the reinstatement.
"I was praying for it, and normally when I pray for things for my children, it normally comes to fruition," he told ESPN. "Everybody kept telling me that the NFL don't do this and the NFL don't do that, but Roger is a great guy, man. I love Roger."
Any inside information or third-party betting will also result in an indefinite suspension of at least one year. Any actual or attempted game fixing will result in banishment from the league.
Twelve players, at least one assistant coach and an undisclosed number of league personnel have been suspended for violating the NFL's gambling policy since 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal statute that had restricted regulated betting to primarily Nevada.