The NFL has dropped the hammer on Calvin Ridley and the Atlanta Falcons receiver is speaking out.
The league suspended Ridley for at least the entire 2022 season for gambling on games during his absence with the team this past season. While Ridley was away due to mental health issues, he reportedly gambled on games during a five-day stretch in November. All of the bets were reportedly made via mobile app in Florida.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, those bets were multi-legged parlays involving three, five and eight games that included the Falcons to win. The league has determined that nobody else in the league was involved and that the game was not compromised in any way.
Ridley responded on Twitter Monday after news broke, saying he only bet at total of $1,500 and that he doesn’t have a gambling problem.
“There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success — and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league — than upholding the integrity of the game,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to Ridley notifying him of his suspension. “This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.
“For decades, gambling on NFL games has been considered among the most significant violations of league policy warranting the most substantial sanction. In your case, I acknowledge and commend you for your promptly reporting for an interview, and for admitting your actions.”
Ridley has three days to appeal the suspension. If it’s upheld he will come off the books for the Falcons in 2022, opening up $11.1 million in cap space.