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Gambling in the NFL has become a hot topic this offseason, especially after the NFL announced three players’ indefinite suspensions after betting on league games in 2022, among other violations.
And like many others, former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason can’t believe it’s come to this.
"Any player that comes out and says, ‘Well, they didn’t tell me,’ that’s a pile of crap," Esiason said bluntly on WFAN Thursday morning with the announcement from the league coming soon after.
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WFAN Host Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason wearing his NY Rangers jersey. (Marcus Santos/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
"It’s on the player to be the professional that you’re supposed to be and earn the money that you’re earning and play in a league that you’re privileged to play in and protect that league’s integrity by not betting on the league."
The league has a strict policy when it comes to gambling: No betting on NFL games, no betting on any sport while at the team’s facility or hotels on the road, no bets from anyone outside of the organization for the player, no entering sportsbooks during the NFL season and no daily fantasy football player.
NFL SUSPENDS THREE PLAYERS INDEFINITELY FOR BETTING ON LEAGUE GAMES IN 2022
"For the players out there saying, ‘I don’t know the rules,’ that’s BS," Esiason said. "I do know that the NFLPA should be putting it into their union members’ heads, ‘You can’t do this. Here are the rules, we’ll send them to you a thousand different ways. Email, text, TikTok, social media, whatever the hell else. DMs, we’ll slide into your DMs with the rules so you know what the hell is going on, because that’s where you spend most of your day anyway, in your freaking phone.’"
Esiason added that the two New York organizations, the Jets and Giants, had meetings during OTAs and minicamps about the gambling rules.
Indianapolis Colts players Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry, as well as free agent Demetrius Taylor, have been slapped with indefinite suspensions for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, which was announced Thursday by the league. Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was also docked six games, according to Thursday’s announcement, for betting on "non-NFL sports at the club facility," which is a clear violation of the league’s policy.
Isaiah Rodgers, #34 of the Indianapolis Colts, walks off the field in the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 2, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Rodgers, a 25-year-old cornerback, admitted to his "error in judgment" earlier this month after reports said he had made bets.
"I know I have made mistakes and I am willing to do whatever it takes to repair the situation. The last thing I ever wanted to do was to be a distraction to the Colts organization, my coaches, and my teammates. I’ve let people down that I care about," Rodgers wrote.
The Detroit Lions also had suspensions come their way, with wide receiver Jameson Williams receiving a six-game suspension to start the 2023 campaign.
And there was Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley, who was just reinstated this past March after being suspended for gambling while on leave from the Atlanta Falcons.
Boomer Esiason attends the 2022 Paramount Upfront at 666 Madison Avenue on May 18, 2022, in New York City. (Arturo Holmes/WireImage)
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Though gambling has become a major part of sports in general in the United States as more states legalize betting, the NFL is hoping there will be no more instances like this.