Calvin Ridley Suspended By NFL For Gambling

BREAKING NEWS, according to Ian Rapoport the NFL is suspending Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for a year due to gambling on NFL games during the 2021 season.

The NFL has released a statement on Ridley's gambling that took place during the 5-day stretch when Ridley was away from the team with a non-football illness. However, the NFL did investigate and uncovered that no game was compromised in any way by Ridley's gambling.

Ridley now won't be able to be reinstated until February 15th, 2023. According to Lindsay Jones per the NFL investigation, Ridley placed three parlays (3-, 5- and 8-teams) and bet on the Falcons to win. All of the bets were placed between Nov. 23-28

Social Media Reacts To Calvin Ridley Gambling

Calvin Ridley's Response On Twitter

Situations like these were the ultimate fear among owners, media, and fans concerning the legalization of gambling but more specifically the NFL's partnering with gambling-related businesses. The good thing is that the investigation came back clear in the sense that no games were affected by his actions. However, it does lead one to think was he really dealing with mental illness when he stepped away or was it gambling related. This now paints Ridley in such a bad light. And I'm not saying he didn't suffer from mental health issues, it's just something that one has to wonder about after this bombshell.

The question now becomes should Ridley be reinstated in the NFL. He broke the cardinal rule in sports. This will now stick with him for the rest of his life and he will forever be seen as maybe point shaving. It will be very interesting to see what the NFL does going forward with Ridley.