© John McDonnell, The Washington Post

Shaka Toney, shown here tackling Russell Wilson in 2021, was among the players suspended Friday for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. 

“Suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season.”

Grabs your attention, doesn’t it?

Especially during an era where gambling advertisements are everywhere, you can’t watch the NBA playoffs from the comfort of your home without being constantly encouraged to place a few quick online bets, and legalized sports gambling is rapidly spreading across our united states.

Does the NFL have a serious gambling problem?

Not yet, based off the names that have been publicized and the league’s uncanny ability to successfully steamroll through every issue, perceived or real.

Is America’s modern pastime messing around with fire and bending the borders of accepted reality in a 24-7-365 sports world that, at its core, must be real and not fake?

It increasingly feels that way.

Calvin Ridley was loudly singled out in May 2022 for betting on NFL games during the 2021 season.

On Friday, less than a week before a made-for-TV draft that should be dominating football news, versions of this headline kept appearing as breaking news across the sports landscape: NFL Suspends 5 Players For Violating Gambling Policy.

Five?

Five is a lot, especially when three were suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games during the 2022 season, and Ridley’s stunning suspension should have been the wake-up call that changed everything.

“Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore of the Detroit Lions, and Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders, are suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season. These players may petition for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season,” the NFL said in a statement. “Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams of the Lions are suspended for the team’s first six regular season games of the 2023 season.”

Later in the same press release: “The gambling policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, including players, prohibits anyone in the NFL from engaging in any form of gambling in any club or league facility or venue, including the practice facility. A league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”

How long until that last part significantly changes?

What happens when a Week 18 or conference championship contest is forever ruined by a backup player who has the potential to make a ton of extra money on the side, the same way that other human beings across the country make millions and millions by betting on the NFL week after week?

Has it happened already and we just haven’t heard about it?

“There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success — and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league — than upholding the integrity of the game,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote when Ridley was suspended. “This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.”

Barely a year later, five more NFL players were suspended.

Williams was the No. 12 overall pick by Detroit in the 2022 draft, after splitting his college playing time between Ohio State and Alabama, two of the biggest programs in that sport.

Of course, the suspended individuals bear responsibility.

Also obvious: Gambling on everything possible, in every possible way, isn’t going away and will only continue to grow.

How does The Shield protect the integrity of every single play during every quarter of every game, year after year and decade after decade, when gambling is everywhere?

Seems impossible, doesn’t it?

Feels like an idealistic dream that will never work in reality, right?

Jets WR coach Miles Austin suspended for violating league’s gambling policy.

That headline appeared on the NFL’s official website two days before Christmas last year, following Ridley’s suspension and preceding Friday’s breaking news.

According to ESPN, “several Lions staff members in various departments were dismissed last month for violating the gambling policy.”

Ridley was singled out as an anomaly last year.

Some sarcastically ridiculed the then-Atlanta wide receiver. Others rightfully pointed out that Ridley, who recorded 1,374 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 2020, received a far more severe punishment than others who had done far worse.

Five more suspensions hint at the new reality that the NFL, NBA, MLB and more are now facing.

The upside of instant sports betting now being one quick click away: More cash for billionaire leagues.

The other side: It’s easier than ever to ruin must-win games and turn real sports into a murky world where nothing is as it seems.