Calvin Ridley Suspension: Troy Aikman Take on Falcons WR Punishment

"On the one hand, you have the league encouraging everybody to gamble, and yet, here Calvin Ridley is suspended for an entire season.”

Troy Aikman is not, of course, defending the breaking of NFL rules. But he is, in a way, defending suspended Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

“I know the league takes gambling very seriously when players are gambling on games, and that was indicative in the suspension he got,” said Aikman, the legendary Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback in the news now as he moves from being the No. 1 analyst at Fox Sports to taking over ESPN's "Monday Night Football.'' “When you look at it against some of the other suspensions, I’d agree that it looks like an awful lot.”

The "other suspensions'' in the NFL can be about any number of heinous offenses. In the case of Ridley, he's out for at least the 2022 season because he was caught gambling on games in 2021 - a fact that caused the "good-faith'' Falcons to pull out of a February trade of Ridley to the Philadelphia Eagles.

During an interview with TMZ, Aikman obviously did not condone Ridley's choice; Ridley himself has tried to make it clear that this is an overblown issue, as Ridley tweeted, “I bet $1500 total; I don’t have a gambling problem.''

It is well-established, and for obvious reasons, that NFL players aren’t allowed to gamble on games. But it's those other NFL crimes that has Aikman saying this suspension “seems like an awful lot.”

And there is something more. In the eyes of many, it also seems rather hypocritical of the league.

Indeed, Aikman mentioned how this suspension might seem harsh because gambling is such a big part of today’s game – at least as it relates to those who can do it within the rules.

Said Aikman: “It seems like a bit much in today’s climate primarily because there was a time when the NFL was totally against the legalization of gambling on football games. And now, that’s a big part of the revenue stream for the NFL.

"On the one hand, you have the league encouraging everybody to gamble, and yet, here Calvin Ridley is suspended for an entire season.”