The NFL on Thursday announced four players have been suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy.
Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry of the Indianapolis Colts and free agent Demetrius Taylor are suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season.
Nicholas Petit-Frere of the Tennessee Titans is suspended for the team’s first six regular-season games of the 2023 season for betting on non-NFL sports at the club facility.
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Rodgers, Berry and Taylor can ask for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season. The Colts waived Rodgers and Berry upon the revelation of their indefinite suspensions.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard released a statement after Rodgers and Berry were cut. “We have made the following roster moves as a consequence of the determination that these players violated the league’s gambling policy,” Ballard wrote. “The game’s integrity must be maintained at all costs. As a team, we’ll keep teaching our coaches, players, and employees about the rules in place and the serious repercussions that can follow infractions.”
In a statement released on June 5, Rodgers said he accepts “full responsibility” for his deeds.
According to the NFL, the gambling policy forbids anybody from participating in any kind of gambling in any club or league facility or event, including the practice facility.
“The league has informed us of Nick’s suspension,” the Titans announced in a statement on Thursday. “We have faith in Nick and are aware of his great regard for our company and the integrity of the game. We will keep stressing to our players how important it is to comprehend and abide by the policies and rules of the league.”
The news on Thursday is the most recent in a series of 2023 off-season gambling bans. The NFL suspended defensive end Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders and receivers Jameson Williams, Quintez Cephus, Stanley Berryhill, and safety C.J. Moore on April 21 for breaking the gambling policy.
In spite of the league’s best attempts to educate every player on its gambling policy, a significant number of them have broken it in the past year. The majority of teams have terminated players due to their judgment errors; only Petit-Frere, Williams, and Toney have not been suspended and are still with their respective clubs.
Suspensions related to gambling have been attributed to a variety of offenses, such as players who bet on their own teams when they weren’t playing (Calvin Ridley, for example, wagered on his Falcons teammates in 2021 while recovering from an injury; this led to an indefinite suspension in 2022) or players who didn’t follow the league’s rule against betting on non-NFL sports while using the club facilities. Since then, Ridley has been traded to Jacksonville, has been given league approval to return, and is anticipated to play for the Jaguars once more in 2022.
