This offseason has been a surprising one for the Detriot Lions. Four players from the 2022 squad have already been punished for gambling, and soon we may be adding one more person to that list.
According to The Athletic’s Kalyn Kaler, the NFL is investigating an unnamed 2022 Lions player for potentially violating the NFL’s gambling rules. The Athletic is not naming the player at this time (as the investigation is still ongoing and the player reportedly hasn’t met with investigators yet), but did say the player wasn’t a prominent member of the team.
This new investigation comes on the heels of the April 21 announcement that four Lions players had been suspended due to violations of the gambling rule. Lions players C.J. Moore and Quintez Cephus were suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games, while Stanley Berryhill and 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams were given six-game suspensions for reportedly betting on college football games while in the team facility. Moore, Cephus, and Berryhill have since been released.
It’s pretty baffling that five Lions players have been investigated and/or punished for gambling violations. What’s in the water over there? Is head coach Dan Campbell actually feeding the players kneecaps? More importantly, is team staff or the NFLPA or the NFL itself properly educating players, especially new ones, on the gambling rules?
That’s a major question, since Williams recently said that he wasn’t aware of the NFL’s gambling rules until he was hit with a suspension for violating them.
