NFL suspends former Alabama standout receiver for gaming
Jameson Williams, a receiver with the Detroit Lions, and four other players are the targets of NFL action. The former Alabama Crimson Tide standout receiver will serve a six-game suspension during the regular season, but he is still eligible to play in preseason games and activities. The NFL has banned three players for an indeterminate period of time. After recovering from knee surgery, Williams was selected with the 12th overall choice in the previous year’s draft, although he only appeared in six games. Calvin Ridley, a former standout player for Alabama, received a full 2021 season suspension for his NFL wagering.
Jameson Williams’ agent, Alliance Sports, released a statement stating that the athlete is “apologetic to the NFL, his teammates, the fans and city of Detroit.” Williams was suspended, according to the statement, due to a “technical rule regarding the actual location in which the online bet was placed — and which would otherwise be allowed by the NFL outside of the club’s facility.”
Five players in all received suspensions from the NFL for breaking the organization’s gambling policy. Quintez Cephus, a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, safety C.J. Moore, and defensive end Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders are all suspended for at least the 2023 season for placing bets on NFL games during the 2022 season. Stanley Berryhill and Williams, two Lions receivers, received six-game suspensions for placing bets on non-NFL games from an NFL facility. Moore and Cephus were released by the Lions.
The National Football League stated that a “league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.” For the NFL, gambling-related events have not happened very often. Calvin Ridley, a wide receiver, was most recently suspended for the whole 2022 season for winning NFL games by gambling. He was eventually moved from Atlanta to Jacksonville and has his suspension lifted. Josh Shaw, a cornerback with the Arizona Cardinals, was suspended in November 2019 for betting on an NFL game; he has not participated in the league since. Cephus, who caught 37 passes in three seasons, and Moore, who started only one game in four years, were cut by the Lions right away. Brad Holmes, general manager and executive vice president of Detroit, stated that the two “exhibited decision making that is
In his lone season, Berryhill appeared in four games without recording a catch. The Lions will collaborate with Berryhill and Williams, according to Holmes, “to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.”
In his two seasons with the Commanders, Toney has started just one game. The Commanders have said that they “cooperated fully with the NFL’s investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions.”
A few professional clubs, like the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, and the MLB’s Washington Nationals, operate sportsbooks within their stadiums due to the growth of sports betting in the United States. Some teams, like the Arizona Cardinals, operate a sportsbook on the stadium property, and many spectators place smartphone bets while watching games. Ads for sports betting are also seen during NFL game breaks.
This week, the NFL and other professional sports leagues established the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising, a voluntary coalition aimed at regulating consumer advertising perception and curbing “excessive” promotion.
The NFL has not been involved in many gambling-related problems until lately. The NFL awarded what is arguably its most well-known disciplinary in 1963: Star running back Paul Hornung of Green Bay and defensive tackle Alex Karras of Detroit, who both went on to become Hall of Famers, were suspended by then-commissioner Pete Rozelle. Both were out for that season, with Rozelle blaming the injuries on wagers on league games and hanging around with bookmakers or “known hoodlums.”
Twenty years later, in Art Schlichter’s second season as a professional quarterback with the Colts, Rozelle banned him. After being added back, Schlichter participated in 1984 and 1985. But he was unable to give up his gambling obsession, and as a result, he was incarcerated for a multimillion-dollar ticketing fraud.
Then-commissioner Bert Bell punished New York Giants players Frank Filchock and Merle Hapes in the 1940s for failing to disclose attempted bribery, especially in relation to the 1946 championship game. Hapes was not permitted to play in that game, which the Giants lost 24–14 to the Bears, but Filchock participated.
Both were ultimately suspended; although Filchock spent portions of four seasons playing in Canada, he didn’t rejoin the NFL until 1950 with Baltimore. Hapes missed all further NFL games.
Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams, two wide receivers with the Lions, were each given a six-game suspension; however, they will be allowed to play in both preseason and offseason games. Beginning with the final roster cutdown, they will be suspended.
The National Football League stated that a “league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”
For the NFL, gambling-related events have not happened very often. Calvin Ridley, a wide receiver, was most recently suspended for the whole 2022 season for winning NFL games by gambling. He was eventually moved from Atlanta to Jacksonville and has his suspension lifted. Josh Shaw, a cornerback with the Arizona Cardinals, was suspended in November 2019 for betting on an NFL game; he has not participated in the league since.
Cephus, who caught 37 passes in three seasons, and Moore, who started only one game in four years, were cut by the Lions right away.
Brad Holmes, general manager and executive vice president of Detroit, stated that the two “exhibited decision making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules.”
After recovering from knee surgery, Williams was selected with the 12th overall choice in the previous year’s draft, although he only appeared in six games. Williams’ agency, Alliance Sports, released a statement stating that the athlete is “apologetic to the NFL, his teammates, the fans and city of Detroit.” Williams was suspended, according to the statement, due to a “technical rule regarding the actual location in which the online bet was placed — and which would otherwise be allowed by the NFL outside of the club’s facility.”
