Report: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers key player is being suspended from all sports for placing a bet against…
NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers Sr. lost the biggest bet of his life Thursday.
The graduate of Blake High School in Tampa was waived by the Indianapolis Colts shortly after the NFL suspended Rodgers and two other players indefinitely for gambling on NFL games last season.
The Colts also cut backup defensive end Rashod Berry after Berry and free agent defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor received the same punishment for the same infraction. None of the three can seek reinstatement until after next season.
Tennessee Titans right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, a Berkeley Prep alumnus, received a six-game suspension for betting on non-NFL sports at the team’s facility, though he can participate in all of the team’s offseason and preseason activities including preseason games.
For the Colts, the decision came swiftly and decisively — even for a potential starter like Rodgers.
“We have made the following roster moves as a consequence of the determination that these players violated the league’s gambling policy,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said in a statement. “The integrity of the game is of the utmost importance. As an organization we will continue to educate our players, coaches, and staff on the policies in place and the significant consequences that may occur with violations.”
Those rules bar players, coaches, team officials and all league personnel from betting on NFL games, placing bets at team facilities or team hotels or having someone else place a bet for them.
NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller said last week only players are permitted to bet on non-NFL games following consultation with the NFL Players Association.
Still gambling policy violations are becoming increasingly common with the expansion of states legalizing sports wagering and other forms of betting and the ease with which bets can be placed on mobile devices.
And it seems remarkably prevalent in a league that imposed no gambling suspensions between those involving Paul Hornung and Alex Karras in 1963 until Art Schlichter in 1983.
At least 10 players have been suspended in the past year, beginning with the 2022 season-long suspension of former Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley. He was reinstated in March and now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Isaiah Rodgers, a graduate of Blake High School in Tampa, was among three players who received indefinite suspensions through at least this season for betting on NFL games in 2022.
Isaiah Rodgers, a graduate of Blake High School in Tampa, was among three players who received indefinite suspensions through at least this season for betting on NFL games in 2022.
The Lions have since released receivers Quintez Cephus and Stanley Berryhill and safety C.J. Moore after Cephus and Moore received indefinite suspensions. Lions general manager Brad Holmes said at the time Cephus and Moore “exhibited decision-making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules.”
