After years of partnering and promoting the idea of placing sports bets, suddenly the NFL has a gambling problem on its hands. Several athletes have been suspended for multiple games, some, like Isaiah Rodgers, even for a full season.
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The league has tried to teach its athletes about what is and isn’t allowed while being a member of an NFL team, but yet somehow, a few players still slip through the cracks, with suspensions occurring each of the past few seasons. Now, some NFL players are calling for big changes to the league’s gambling policy, including Calais Campbell, who’s played 16 seasons in the pros.
Longtime NFL vet Calais Campbell says NFL’s gambling rules don’t make sense
The league rules state that no player or coach may bet on NFL games, no matter where they are, what team they play for, or what role they play.
Yet, when it comes to betting on other sports leagues, such as the NBA, MLB, and everything else, the NFL has specific rules for their players, where they cannot place any wagers from inside the locker room or at any team facilities. This even includes banning the ability to bet while on road trips to play at away stadiums.
To some, these rules are a bit confusing. For others, they’re downright nonsense.
“I feel like the rules are outdated. There was a time where it made sense, but now with technology and being able to bet on baseball or basketball on your phone, I don’t understand why just because I’m in a locker room or on a Wednesday or whatever, that I can’t pick up my phone and [bet].
NFL defensive lineman Calais Campbell
Part of the issue, as Campbell sees it, is that the NFL is profiting off the ability to be associated with sports gambling, so why shouldn’t their players have a chance to do the same?
“Nobody wants to have a guy betting on football. That’s not OK. But, you know, with technology the way it is and you can tell exactly what people are betting on, and you know it has nothing to do with the integrity of the game, why not give us this opportunity to be able to make money when we’re doing that as a league?”
Calais Campbell, continued
Meanwhile, athletes from the NBA, MLB, and NHL are all allowed to bet on other sports with no restriction, yet, for whatever reason, the NFL does not have the same policy, and some players are getting upset.
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