© IndyStars Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen addresses the media at the NFL combine on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

INDIANAPOLIS — The lessons of the NFL’s ongoing investigation into Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, and the stiff penalties already handed down to other players around the league, have been clear to the Indianapolis roster this week.

In addition to the Rodgers story, NFL representatives have been in Indianapolis to talk to the rest of the Colts this week, a visit characterized as part of the NFL’s normal educational efforts on the dangers of gambling on sports.

Rodgers apologized Monday night for the investigation, and the NFL’s educational meetings on gambling happened early this week.

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“What I got from those sessions was: ‘Don’t gamble,’” Indianapolis linebacker E.J. Speed said.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen declined to answer most questions about Rodgers, the implications on the roster or the details of the NFL investigation in Wednesday’s media session.

“All I’ll say on that is it’s an ongoing investigation with the NFL right now,” Steichen said. “And we are constantly — it’s an ongoing process — educating our players, educating our coaches on the situation, and beyond that, I’ll probably have no further comment.”

Rodgers was not seen on the field at the team’s organized team activity Wednesday.

Steichen declined to say if he’d talked to Rodgers, if Rodgers would continue to be a part of the team’s offseason workouts or if the head coach had discussed the team’s next steps on Rodgers’ roster status with general manager Chris Ballard.

“I’m going to keep all those things internal,” Steichen said.  

Under the NFL’s gambling policy, league personnel may not engage in “placing, soliciting or facilitating any bet, whether directly or through a third party,” on any NFL game, practice or other league event like the draft or NFL scouting combine. League personnel may place legal bets on non-NFL sporting events, but those bets cannot be placed from inside a team facility or in the course of conducting team or league business.

“The league comes in, they give their piece on it, what they talk about, how they handle it and what the players need to know,” Steichen said. “I’m not going to get into a lot of detail on that stuff, but that’s where it’s at.”

But the message has not prevented the NFL from dealing with violations of the league’s gambling policy.

Former Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for the entirety of the 2022 season due to betting on NFL games. Four Lions players, including 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams, were suspended for either six games or a year for gambling violations in late April, and Washington safety Shaka Toney was suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games.

Of those six players, only Williams and Toney remain with their original teams.

“They’ve been making examples of people,” tight end Kylen Granson said.

The increase in the legalization of sports betting has made gambling increasingly accessible for the entire population, including NFL players.

But the league’s messaging on the dangers of gambling, particularly on NFL games and a player’s own team, has been consistent.

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s really changed all that much,” running back Zack Moss said. “If they say, ‘Don’t do something,’ then you don’t do it, but I don’t dabble in all of that.”

Speed and Granson echoed Moss’s sentiment, saying they’ve never been interested in gambling.

If they were, though, the takeaway was the same for each of the players the Colts made available for interviews Wednesday.

“I would encourage anybody to not gamble,” Speed said. “It’s not worth it.”

More: Colts’ Isaiah Rodgers apologizes for gambling investigation: ‘I made an error in judgment’

Steichen did say that NFL representatives have been in Indianapolis this week to educate the Colts about the league’s rules on gambling, but the visit was pre-planned, part of the NFL’s usual education on the topic during the offseason.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts coach Shane Steichen declines to answer most questions on gambling investigation