Topline
The NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons player Calvin Ridley through at least the 2022 season on Monday, after the wide receiver placed bets on an NFL game during his mental health-focused break from football last year.
Calvin Ridley of the Atlanta Falcons runs with the ball during joint practice with the Miami … [+]
Key Facts
The bets took place over a period of five days in late November 2021, when Ridley was on the Falcons’ non-football illness list and away from the team, the NFL said in a statement.
Ridley said in a tweet Monday he bet $1,500 total and doesn’t have a “gambling problem.”
The NFL said an investigation found no evidence that Ridley used insider information or that any league game was compromised in any way.
In an excerpt of a letter published by the NFL, league Commissioner Roger Goodell commended Ridley for admitting to making the bets and for cooperating with the league’s request to interview him.
Ridley can appeal his suspension by filing notice in the next three days, the NFL noted, and otherwise he can petition for reinstatement into the league in February 2023, which Ridley indicated he intends to do, saying on Twitter that he will “be more healthy when I come back.”
The Falcons said in a statement the team was informed of the NFL investigation in February, cooperated fully, and supports the league’s findings and decision.
Key Background
Ridley stepped back from football in November to focus on his mental health. “These past few weeks have been very challenging and as much as I’d like to be on the field competing with my teammates, I need to step away from football at this time and focus on my mental wellbeing,” Ridley said in an Instagram post. Ridley was drafted by the Falcons in 2018, and the team exercised his fifth-year option for the 2022 season last spring.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/03/07/atlanta-falcons-calvin-ridley-suspended-for-betting-on-nfl-games/