NFL news: Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley gets one-year ban for betting breach
- Paul Higham
- 21 March 2022
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announces Calvin Ridley will be suspended for at least the 2022 season following his betting activity while away from the team.
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley will sit out the upcoming season at least having been suspended by the NFL for betting breaches.
Ridley was away from the team dealing with mental health issues at the time he was found to have been betting on NFL games.
The 27-year-old was placed on the non-football illness list in November last season, before he was found to have placed bets on NFL games during a five-day period that same month.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the suspension and circulated a letter to all teams on the ruling against Ridley and the league's stance of betting.
Goodell wrote: "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.
"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."
Ridley published a series of posts on Twitter to insist he did not have a gambling problem.
"I bet 1500 total I don't have a gambling problem," he wrote.
"I couldn't even watch football at that point. Just gone be more healthy when I come back. Just gone be more healthy when I come back. If you know me you know my character."
Ridley can apply to be reinstated on February 15, 2023.
