NFL Player Gives Bizarre Defense for Betting on Games: “I Can Risk My Life So That My Team Wins But I Can’t Risk $1K on My Team Winning?”

New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones has come to the defense of players getting suspended for betting on sports.

On Thursday, the NFL announced another round of suspensions. It came two months after the league suspended five players — four Detroit Lions and one Washington Commander — for placing bets. Two of those players were suspended for six games each for placing sports bets on team facilities, which is against the league’s gambling policy. They did not bet on NFL games.

The other three players, however, were believed to have bet on NFL games and will miss the entire 2023-24 season.

Three more players were added to the list of season-long suspensions on Thursday. Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry — both of the Indianapolis Colts — and free agent Demetrius Taylor will all miss the season for betting on NFL games.

According to ESPN’s David Purdum, Rodgers bet $1,000 on a Colts running back — one of his own teammates — gaining a specific amount of rushing yards.

Jones thinks the rule is hypocritical.

“I understand rules are rules,” he said. “But I can risk my life so that my team wins but I can’t risk 1k on my team winning.”

Naturally, the notion was met with a great deal of pushback. Jones went out of his way to respond to someone opposed to the idea and doubled down, claiming that betting on your own team would be OK as long as the player isn’t betting on anything negative.

“You could limit bets to be only for your team’s benefits,” he said.

Including Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley in 2022, seven NFL players have now faced season-long suspensions for violating the league’s gambling policy. Three players have been given six-game suspensions.

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