Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers is the latest player to fall victim to the plague that is gambling. According to the latest reports, Rodgers placed almost 100 bets ranging from $25-30, including at least one 4-digit sum. Now, as he sits in the midst of an NFL investigation, 7x Super Bowl Winner Tom Brady has taken it upon himself to warn other athletes to not commit the same mistake as Isaiah.
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The news broke on Monday when reports suggested that a Colts player was under investigation for betting on games. Soon after, Rodgers’ name came up as part of the investigation. Rodgers took to Twitter to apologize to the fans, saying, “I made an error in judgment”. Though, it is unlikely that his public apology will have any effect on the sentence the NFL imposes on him.
Tom Brady steps in to help spread awareness amongst players on gambling
With the gambling problems taking the NFL by storm, the league has decided to bring in a legend of the sport to knock some sense into the players. 7x Super Bowl winner Tom Brady appeared in the introduction for the league’s gambling educational video. In it, Brady, as per 9News.com, speaks about how it is a privilege to play football, and how betting hurts the integrity of the league and the reputation of the team, and that it’s not worth it.
The NFL has mandated that the video be played at every team’s facility, in an attempt to make players aware of the severe consequences of violating the league’s policy. The NFL prohibits everyone associated with it from gambling on games. Not just NFL games, but any other sports in the whole wide world. Even the ball boys are reportedly held to this policy.
— Isaiah Rodgers Sr. (@rodgers_isaiah) June 6, 2023
However, there are some caveats to this policy. The blanket ban on betting only applies to coaches, executives, or staff members employed by the league or by a team. Players can, however, bet on games from other sports. Though they cannot do that while they are in the team’s facility. In essence, bet from anywhere than your workplace.
Earlier this year, the league suspended 5 players for violating this policy. Lions’ Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill, Quitez Cephus, and C.J. Moore faced the wrath of the league. Additionally, Commanders’ Shaka Toney also faced consequences for his betting violations. The league will be hoping TB12‘s appearance will help stem this problem to some extent.
The NFL has historically struggled when it comes to enforcing policies
It is not surprising to hear that the NFL is having a difficult time enforcing policies. Trying to prevent players from gambling is a rather difficult move, especially when they have massive deals with gambling platforms such as DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caeser’s Entertainment. The league’s close proximity to such companies does not make it seem that this problem will go away soon.
Apart from this, there is one other significant policy that the NFL has struggled with recently. Their concussion protocol, which surfaced after Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa suffered two concussions in the space of 2 weeks. The NFL promised to revise its policy, though fans have been asking for a lot more. Will the NFL’s struggles with enforcing policy ever end?
