Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for no less than all the 2022 season for playing on N.F.L. video games final 12 months, one of many harshest penalties of its sort in league historical past.
Commissioner Roger Goodell mentioned in a press release that Ridley, 27, positioned bets on N.F.L. video games throughout a five-day interval in late November when he was away from the membership to deal with his psychological well being.
The league “uncovered no proof indicating any inside data was used or that any sport was compromised in any approach,” Goodell mentioned in a press release. “Nor was there proof suggesting any consciousness by coaches, workers, teammates, or different gamers of his betting exercise.”
Nonetheless, he mentioned the “integrity of the sport” is key to the league’s success, and Ridley put that integrity in danger.
Ridley introduced on Oct. 31, 2021 that he would step away from the staff due to a psychological well being concern.
“These previous few weeks have been very difficult and as a lot as I’d wish to be on the sector competing with my teammates, I have to step away from soccer presently and deal with my psychological properly being,” Ridley mentioned in a press release posted to his social media accounts. “It will assist me be the most effective model of myself now and sooner or later.
Ridley, a four-year veteran, had his greatest N.F.L. season in 2020 when he caught 90 passes for 1,374 yards. Final season, he performed in simply 5 video games.
The Falcons mentioned in a press release that they first discovered on the league’s investigation on Feb. 9, and that they “help the league’s findings and actions.”
Ridley can enchantment his suspension inside three days, and may ask to be reinstated on or after Feb. 15, 2023.