NFL star Calvin Ridley has finally taken center stage on his gambling problem
The gambling man himself, Calvin Ridley, has finally spoken out on his suspension from the league last season.
The NFL suspended Ridley for the entirety of the 2022 season after betting on games. I am not a betting man, but I believe Ridley had to have taken the under on Falcons wins in 2021.
On Wednesday in The Player’s Tribune, Ridley wrote “A Letter to the Game” where he apologized and reflected on his mistake.
Across four seasons with the Falcons, Ridley accumulated 3,342 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns on 248 receptions. Before the NFL suspended Ridley for betting, he had 31 catches for 281 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the Falcons in 2021. He only played five games that season before taking a break from football for mental health reasons.
Highlights of Ridley’s “Letter to the Game”
In his “Letter to the Game” Ridley showed his other side that people don’t see on the football field. His inner-thoughts.
“I f***ed up. I’m not here to sugarcoat anything. In 2021, I made the worst mistake of my life by gambling on football,” Ridley said.
“I paid the price, believe me. I’ve seen all the jokes. I’ve seen all the hate. And I can shoulder all of that, no problem,” Ridley said. “All I want is for people to understand that, when I made those bets, there was a hell of a lot more going on with me.“
“After practice, once that painkiller wears off, you still have to come home and be a husband and a father. My daughter don’t care,” Ridley wrote. “She’s two years old, and she’s running straight up to me, “Dadddyyyyyy!!!” She’s wanting to bake some cookies in the Fisher-Price oven, you know? But I’m coming home broken. I can’t even do anything but lie around in a dark room.“
“That’s when the anxiety really started. I knew something was off, but I didn’t want to let anybody down.“
“That’s when I really just started to feel the weight of the world on my chest. I didn’t have the words for what I was experiencing yet,” Ridley said. “It felt like I was getting attacked — but almost by something invisible. It’s like I’m getting hit in my chest, 24/7, by somebody I can’t see.“
As his feelings poured, Ridley went on to say that football saved his life. It’s still his purpose, and he still loves it now — maybe more than ever. Ridley will step on the field for the Jacksonville Jaguars this upcoming season for the first time since Oct. 24, 2021. He will join an up-and-coming Jaguars team with Trevor Lawrence and improved wide receiver corps.
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