Yesterday it was announced that Falcons WR, Calvin Ridley, would be suspended by the NFL for all of the 2022 season, forfeiting his $11 million dollar salary, for having bet on games (NFL games) back last November.
Ridley bet (according to the records discussed) $1,500, total, on something that could potentially cost him $11 million in salary. Why explain it that way?
Having been a sports exec for many years, I can say there are no shortages of trainings – explicitly pointing out that sports betting on your own league in which you work is not allowed. This goes for players. This goes for front office staff. Is what Calvin Ridley did wrong? Absolutely. Is that the end of the story? Absolutely not.
It’s interesting bc I went to the happy place that is twitter, right after the Ridley story broke. I came across many posts (not surprisingly) like the one on the 2nd slide➡️: making it out like Ridley faked going away from football for his MH challenges (which he had done very publicly in early November), as a front for a gambling addiction.
I used the search engines for abt 30 min today. This piece by NBC Sports – which isn’t even a piece – it’s a segment by MiKe Florio & Chris Simms was the ONLY one I could find, discussing the potential linkage (in an understanding way), of MH & gambling.
Our society treats things like MH, gambling, addiction, suicide, all as separate buckets/different unrelated topics. But the reality is, emotional pain underlies it ALL. As @theofleury14 so often says: “They’re cousins living in the same house.”
We don’t know why Calvin gambled. We’re not his psychologists nor in his head. He didn’t just gamble $1,500…he gambled a chance on his career & large salary. He stepped away for MH challenges BEFORE the gambling occurred.
As Florio pointed out – when we’re searching for that dopamine hit…we can do some questionable things. My main point is – for ppl to say he FAKED MH, bc of gambling, is wrong at best…& destructive toward normalization of these topics at worst. Let’s speak out against these takes…& let’s educate abt the connections.