Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended for the 2022 season for gambling on games in 2021.
Ridley accumulated 31 catches, 281 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns in 5 games in 2021. However, after playing the first 2 games, on October 7th Ridley declined going with the team for their 3rd game because of what he deemed a personal issue. Ridley would then return to the team the following week. But then on October 31st, 2021, Ridley announced that he was stepping away from the team indefinitely to work on his mental health.
On November 5th, 2021, the Atlanta Falcons placed Ridley on the non-football injury list. Later on that month, Ridley would go on a betting spree which covered 5 days in the month and includes parlays where he choose the Falcons to win.
February 9th, 2022, the Atlanta Falcons were informed that the NFL was investigating the Ridley situation for gambling on games. Then a little less than a month later, on March 7th, 2022, the NFL would announce a suspension of at least one year for Ridley. Ridley will be the 5th player ever in NFL history to be suspended for gambling.
Ridley’s response
After the suspension was put in place on Monday, Ridley would post a series of tweets. Here they are:
