NFL Suspends Jameson Williams, Four Others for Gambling
NFL Offseason - The NFL is suspending five players for violations of the gambling policy set in place by the league, per reports from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Involved were Detroit Lions' wide receivers Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill, and Quintez Cephus, along with safety CJ Moore. Defensive end Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders was also suspended. Cephus, Toney, and Moore are all suspended indefinitely and for a minimum of one year. Williams and Berryhill are suspended for just six games.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Cephus and Moore have been released by the Lions after they were suspended by the NFL.
The players suspended for a year are said to have been found gambling on NFL games, while those suspended for six games were placing bets on college games but while inside NFL facilities. The NFL released a statement on the suspensions, saying "A league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”
Comments
7 comments, Last at 07 May 2023, 4:39pm
#1 by Joey-Harringto… // Apr 22, 2023 - 6:13am
I’m quite used to great expectations leading to crushing disappointment, but this is the first time the latter happened before the season even started. Better to get it out of the way early, I suppose.
Would have been nice for the NFL to hand out this suspension before the Lions let DJ Chark sign elsewhere for peanuts.
#4 by Joey-Harringto… // Apr 22, 2023 - 2:58pm
Regarding the players who bet on NFL games: After the Calvin Ridley situation, how dumb can they possibly be? Yes, you can argue the punishment is draconian, but I get how they have to avoid even the appearance of impropriety regarding NFL players and NFL games (there are already idiots out there insisting NFL games are "fixed").
Regarding the players who bet on college games (and other sports), this is apparently not against the rules. What is against the rules is betting on those games within team facilities (which includes hotels the team is staying at, as well as the planes/trains/buses/boats/dirigibles etc. that the team is traveling on. So if the players in question went out to the parking lot to place their bets, and then returned to the team facility, they would not have been in violation of the rules.
Is this latter rule stupid and hypocritical? Yes, absolutely. Is it still spectacularly poor decision making to break that rule? Yes! (Pretty similar to testing positive for marijuana). The gambling related rules are reviewed with the players multiple times throughout the year, and getting caught breaking them anyway is inexplicable.
I'm not panicking about Jameson Williams pick, but my metaphorical finger is starting to hover over the panic button.