ATLANTA — Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who was suspended indefinitely by the NFL, bet more on Falcons games than he and the NFL revealed, according to an article at sportshandle.com written by Brett Smiley.
“This goes to the heart of the game and that’s why they threw the book at him, kind of made an example of (Ridley),” Smiley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.
The Falcons had no comment on this report.
Ridley admitted in a tweet on social media that he bet $1,500.
According to Sports Handle, Ridley placed six bets on or including Falcons games totaling $3,900. Is this a signal of a more deep-rooted gambling problem?
“It’s impossible for me, you and probably anyone else at this point to say whether or not he has a problem,” Smiley said. “I guess by virtue of the fact that he knew what the policy was, and he chose to bet anyway. I mean, that’s a problem in and of itself. Whether it’s a problem with financial discipline, I don’t know. Charles Barkley said, it’s only a problem if you can’t afford to lose it.”
Five of the bets were parlays and one was a $1,300 in-game wager on the Falcons’ team total placed during the second half of the team’s win over Jacksonville.
All six of the wagers involving the Falcons were graded as losses.
The main parlay was a $300, 11-leg bet placed Nov. 28 at odds of 481-1, which would have paid more than $144,000.
Ridley also allegedly placed two additional bets at $100 each on games not involving his team, winning both, totaling $654.
During the Nov. 23-28 time frame, the receiver placed 33 additional wagers on other sports and leagues for a total of more than $32,000, profiting $2,744.
His net loss across all wagering at the sportsbook (Hard Rock Online), which operates in Florida at the time through the Seminole Tribe of Florida was $1,186.
