Calvin Ridley received a one-year suspension from the National Football League for gambling on video games. Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for no less than all of the 2022 season for playing in N.F.L. video games in the final 12 months, one of the harshest penalties of its variety in league historical past.
Commissioner Roger Goodell mentioned in an announcement on Monday that Ridley, 27, positioned bets on N.F.L. video games throughout a five-day interval in late November 2021 when he was away from the membership to deal with his psychological well being.
The league “uncovered no proof indicating any inside info was used or that any recreation was compromised in any means,” Goodell mentioned within the assertion. “Nor was there proof suggesting any consciousness by coaches, employees, teammates or different gamers of his betting exercise.”
Nonetheless, Goodell mentioned, the “integrity of the sport” is prime to the league’s success, and Ridley put that integrity in danger.
Due to a psychological well-being concern, Ridley announced on Oct. 31, 2021, that he would step away from the staff.
“These previous few weeks have been very difficult and as a lot as I’d prefer to be on the sphere competing with my teammates, I have to step away from soccer right now and deal with my psychological well-being,” Ridley mentioned in an announcement posted to his social media accounts. “This can assist me be the most effective model of myself now and sooner or later.”
Calvin Ridley, a four-year veteran, had his finest N.F.L. season in 2020 when he caught 90 passes for 1,374 yards. In the final season, he performed in just five video games. The staff exercised his fifth-year possibility for the 2022 season final spring.
The five mentioned in the announcement said that they first discovered the league’s investigation on Feb. 9, and that they “assist the league’s findings and actions.”
Calvin Ridley can enchantment his suspension inside three days and may ask to be reinstated on or after Feb. 15, 2023.
