Calvin Ridley, an American football wide receiver, was suspended from the NFL for wagering on sports. The reformed player acknowledged his mistake and will now try to return to competing.
Ridley Wagered on Sports
Ridley was suspended after placing several mobile wagers in November 2021. It is known that Ridley placed around 10 bets and made a few parlay wagers. In total, the wide receiver wagered around $1,500.
Experts found out that in his playtime, Ridley had made parlays which included the Atlanta Falcons, which were his team at the time. Luckily for Ridley, investigators did not find any evidence of fraud or game information leak.
However professional NFL athletes are prohibited from betting as they might undermine the integrity of the league. Because of such concerns, Hard Rock contacted Genius Sports, the NFL’s sports data provider, and informed it that Ridley had bet. As a result, the player was reprimanded and suspended from competing professionally.
Ridley bet on his own volition, with his NFL coaches, teammates, competitors and staff being unaware of his wagering activity. According to a post he made on Twitter, the player does not suffer from problem gambling.
Ridley Began the Reinstatement Process
In November 2022, Ridley was acquired by the Jacksonville Jaguars despite still being suspended. The team believes that once the player will be a great option for quarterback Trevor Lawrence once he returns to competing professionally.
Ridley will now begin the process of returning to the league. As outlined in his suspension, Ridley became able to apply for reinstatement on February 15, 2023. The player applied for reinstatement as soon as possible and now hopes to return to the NFL.
Wagering Athletes Undermine the Integrity of Pro Sports
Athletes betting on sports are something that is widely regarded as problematic in professional competitions. Allowing professionals to wager may give them an unfair advantage over average bettors, compromising the fairness of sports betting.
In addition, wagering athletes may oftentimes be convinced to fix matches, thus undermining the integrity of professional sports as well.
Because of that, in 2022, UFC betting was temporarily banned in Ontario as the league did not follow some of the standards expected by the regulator. These concerns came amid a big betting scandal involving several professional UFC athletes and leading to the suspensions of a number of players. Soon after that, the UFC teamed up with US Integrity to improve its integrity controls.