© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
The Detroit Lions are making a point to re-educate their players on the NFL’s gambling policy after it was revealed that a fifth player is under investigation for violating it.
Earlier this offseason the NFL suspended four Lions players — Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill, Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore — for violating the league’s gambling policy.
Williams and Berryhill received six-game suspensions, while Cephus and Moore were suspended for one year. The latter three players have already been released by the team, while Williams — the team’s first-round pick in 2022 — will be eligible to return in Week 7.
This past week Williams revealed that he was not fully aware of the details of the policy.
In response to all of this, Lions head coach Dan Campbell has made a point of re-educating the team’s players on the policy.
Here is what Campbell had to say on the subject, via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com.
“It’s much more an emphasis from us, as opposed to just leaving it to the league. Like, we need to make sure that we really hit this ourselves and make a point of it. We did, but obviously not enough. The proof’s in the pudding. So for us, let’s take it out of their hands. They will have what they do every year, but now we need to put our own emphasis on it. And I think that is the best way to do it, is to highlight it. And that is what we are trying to do.”
It is not yet known who the fifth Lions player being investigated is. ESPN reported more than a week ago that the league was investigating a second wave of violations.
The fact the Lions have had so many players already suspended, and potentially have another one added to the list, is a pretty good sign that there was a communication issue somewhere with the team when the policy was put into place.
NFL players are allowed to place bets on other sports, but they are not allowed to do so within the team facility. That was the issue that Williams ran into to earn his six-game suspension.
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