NFL Suspends Players for Betting
Author:
Megan Butler
Caught red handed: the National Football League (NFL) has announced that it has handed out suspensions to five players after determining that they violated the league’s gambling policy. Detroit Lions receivers Jameson Williams, Quintez Cephus, Stanley Berryhill and safety CJ Moore were the unlucky ones who got suspended, along with Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney.
The National Football League (NFL) has revealed that it handed out suspensions of varying degrees of severity to five players after alleging that they violated the league’s gambling policy.
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Some Players Suspended Indefinitely; Others Given Six-Game Suspensions
Rules are rules: the premiere football organization in the United States, the National Football League (NFL), has stepped out and revealed that it has handed out suspensions to five prominent players after establishing that they had violated the league’s gambling policy.
The players in question are Detroit Lions receivers Jameson Williams, Quintez Cephus, Stanley Berryhill and safety CJ Moore, who all were given varying suspensions; Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney also managed to get caught up in the fray.
Cephus, Moore and Toney were all handed indefinite suspensions for the charge of betting on games during the 2022 season. They will not be able to apply for reinstatement until after the 2023 season is over.
Meanwhile, Williams and Berryhill received six-game suspensions, which span the opening six games of the 2023 NFL regular season. Both players in question will retain the privilege of being able to participate in all off-season and pre-season activities, including pre-season games.
NFL Didn’t Find Any Evidence That Inside Information Was Used During Betting
In its shared statement on the news of five major suspensions in the league, the National Football League (NFL) reminded observers about the NFL’s specific policies regarding gambling:
“The gambling policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, including players, prohibits anyone in the NFL from engaging in any form of gambling in any club or league facility or venue, including the practice facility. A league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.” – Spokesperson, National Football League (NFL), Press Release
The Detroit Lions, the team which holds four of the five players suspended for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, were in no position to contest the league’s decision. Not long after the suspensions were made public, the Lions confirmed the team had let go of both Cephus and Moore following the news of their suspensions. Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes specified that both Cepuhus and Moore’s actions were in fact in direct confrontation with the team’s own values:
“These players exhibited decision making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules. We have made the decision to part ways with Quintez and C.J. immediately. We are disappointed by the decision making demonstrated by Stanley and Jameson and will work with both players to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.” – Brad Holmes, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Detroit Lions, Press Release
Genius Sports Clinched NFL Data Deal with TSN+ in January 2023
In other NFL news as of late, sports betting data supplier Genius Sports revealed in January 2023 that it had stepped into a comprehensive new partnership with Canadian sports channel The Sports Network (TSN) in which it will provide the network with a proprietary data feed for all National Football League (NFL) games.
TSN+ will now have the ability to showcase real-time overlays to its customers, featuring content such as graphics and visualizations, as well as Next Gen Stats (NGS) data. Genius Sports became the official data partner of the NFL back in April 2021.
Owner of The Sports Network (TSN) Bell Media Sports vice president Shawn Redmond marked the occasion of the announcement by reassuring fans they would be able to enjoy a top of the line betting experience in no time:
“TSN+ allows fans to go deeper into TSN’s world-leading live sports portfolio with augmented feeds, multi-casts, and additional featured content from our marquee properties, including the NFL. We’re thrilled to partner with Genius Sports to deliver these world-exclusive, data-enhanced augmented broadcasts for the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl LVII to TSN+ users.” – Shawn Redmond, Vice President, Bell Media Sports, Press Release
NFL and Genius Sports Prolonged Partnership in December 2022
As already mentioned, Genius Sports and the National Football League (NFL) boast a partnership together, which the two chose to extend in December 2022. The deal extension focused on Genius’ Watch & Bet service and live video betting product, which it will now be able to furnish to more sports wagering operators in the US than normal.
First in line to make use of Genius’ pioneering data and video product was Caesars Entertainment, which promptly rolled out the service to its wide-ranging viewership and fanbase through the hugely popular Caesars Sportsbook mobile app.
Genius Sports chief executive Mark Locke kept the hype train rolling by assuring fans they were about to experience the arrival of the most innovative sports betting experience in the industry at present:
“In our expanded agreement with the NFL and Caesars Entertainment, Genius Sports has created a unique solution that combines our exclusive official NFL data with live streaming content to deliver the most compelling sports betting experience available across the US. Accelerated by our long-term NFL partnership, Genius Sports continues to go from strength to strength as our innovative products enable our customers to grow their product offering and increase market share across North America.”
