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- 3x Super Bowl champion and NFL Hall of Fame member Troy Aikman was asked about Calvin Ridley’s suspension by the NFL for gambling
- Troy actually gives a pretty reasonable perspective here instead of trying to draw a line in the sand between right and wrong
- Read more NFL stories here
The NFL announced it was suspending Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for gambling. According to reports, Ridley gambled a total of $1,500 on parlays that ultimately cost him over $11 million in NFL salary this season. He also placed these parlay bets when he wasn’t even playing for the Falcons which adds further insult to injury.
Troy Aikman was asked about this and gave a pretty reasonable answer. Aikman was asked what he thinks about the Calvin Ridley suspension and right out of the gate he called the 1-year suspension “an awful lot.” Then the new ESPN analyst went on to explain why he thinks the punishment was overly harsh.
Here’s video of Troy Aikman’s answer along with his quotes about the Calvin Ridley punishment down below.
Troy Aikman Gives A Reasonable Perspective On The Calvin Ridley Suspension
Troy Aikman: “It seems like a bit much in today’s climate, primarily because there was a time when the NFL was totally against the legalization of gambling on football games, and now that’s a big part of the revenue stream for the NFL. On the one hand, you have the league encouraging everybody to gamble and yet here Calvin Ridley is suspended for an entire season.”
Most of the talk about the Calvin Ridley suspension revolves around the players knowing the NFL’s rules, and if those rules are broken there are consequences. That IS the reality of the situation but it doesn’t mean the NFL and Roger Goodell aren’t massive hypocrites for partnering with multiple sportsbooks in anticipation of billions of dollars in sports gambling revenue.
The NFL did need to dish out some sort of punishment because Calvin Ridley did break the rules and the league punishes any personnel that breaks the rules. But they could’ve handled this differently and made it a teaching situation and opened the door for atonement and acknowledgment that was he did was against the league’s rules.
Instead, the league suspended him for a year and Ridley lost over $11 million in salary because of $1,500 in bets that you or I could place with the blessing of the league.