In recent weeks, a number of NFL players have been suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy. Some of them bet on NFL games. Others bet on non-NFL games, but did so while inside a team facility. Both are violations, and both resulted in players being banned anywhere from six games to a full season or more. 

If there’s anyone who knows this policy better than any player by now, it’s Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley. While away from the Atlanta Falcons during the 2021 season, Ridley placed bets on NFL games (not involving the Falcons) and was accordingly suspended for the entirety of the 2022 season. 

Ridley says seeing numerous players get suspended even after being alerted to the reasons he was banned bothers him a bit. 

“Yeah, it bugs me a little because my NFL buddies didn’t look at me and say, ‘Aw man, hell, that’s serious,'” Ridley told the Florida Times-Union. “I wish they would’ve looked at me and said, ‘Wow, they did him like that? I hope it doesn’t happen to me.’ Because that’s what I would’ve done. If I would’ve seen one of my NFL buddies get slammed like that, I would’ve been a little bit afraid and watching myself. But you know, it is what it is, they have to learn the hard way like I did. It’s gonna be all right though.”

Now, Ridley has some advice for other NFL players when it comes to gambling: Don’t do it. 

“I think, even for me, once I found out I was getting investigated, I didn’t even know [how serious it was],” Ridley said. “I was like, ‘OK, cool.’ I didn’t know how serious it was until I left that interview. It’s just schooling the guys on not to do it. It’s not worth it at all. I really think we don’t understand how serious it is. We kind of go over it and then it’s gone. It’s a real serious offense. You don’t want to do it, mess with the integrity of the game and your job. Just stay away from it if you can.”