Calvin Ridley has been suspended for the entire 2022 season by the NFL for gambling on NFL games during the 2021 season. Some of the games Ridley was betting on were for his own team, the Atlanta Falcons.
Ridley played just five games for the Falcons in the 2021 season before sitting out the remainder of the year. He was reportedly out of the lineup for mental health issues that has become an increasingly big and serious condition for all people, not just professional athletes. It takes courage for pro athletes to come forward with these issues and they should be taken seriously.
Now, he is making headlines for something other than that. It was bound to happen sometime that a pro sports player would bet on their own sport. NFL players can bet on other sports but not their own. It made it worse that he bet on his own team where he could easily have insider information about injuries or game strategies.
Ridley tweeted he only bet $1,500 and doesn’t have a gambling problem.
Ridley was a budding young star in the NFL before he began to miss games due to his condition. He managed 1,374 receiving yards with nine touchdwons in 2020 and was poised for a big year in 2021. Without Julio Jones he was expected to be the go-to receiver in Atlanta.
His last game played was October 24th, 2021. Now he will have to wait until the Fall of 2023 to play in his next game.
Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calvin_Ridley_Falcons_vs_WFT_OCT2021.jpg
