Calvin Ridley Caught Bidding On NFL Games; Gets One Year Suspension

Calvin Ridley gets caught by a third-party company betting on NFL games and receives a one-year suspension, then takes to Twitter to join the jokes.

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If there is one thing professional sports players are absolutely not allowed to do, it’s bet on games—especially in the sport they play. Most players do not even realize most professional sports leagues pay third-party companies to search betting data for players, coaches, and staff information to make sure this doesn’t happen. Unfortunately, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley may not have been aware that sports bets are tracked.

The NFL caught Ridley red-handed for betting in Florida and hit him with a suspension of up to one year. For clarity, Calvin was already away from the team for personal reasons.

Between Genius Sports Group and the Hard Rock, they were able to confirm that a professional NFL player who took time away from his team for personal reasons was betting on his team to lose under his legal name with his bank account that was in his name as well.

The most interesting part of this news was Calvin jumping on Twitter as the jokes were flying to add more context for the slander.

To be completely honest, we doubt anyone wondered if he had a gambling problem. The talk was more around how he could make such a careless mistake in such an undeniable fashion with his name attached to everything.

“There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success — and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league — than upholding the integrity of the game,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter notifying Ridley of the suspension. “This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.

“For decades, gambling on NFL games has been considered among the most significant violations of league policy warranting the most substantial sanction. In your case, I acknowledge and commend you for your promptly reporting for an interview, and for admitting your actions.”

Calvin seems to be in good spirits despite the news of his suspension and claims the time off will help him come back even healthier.