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‘Worst mistake of my life:’ Calvin Ridley opens up about gambling suspension, mental health

By WSBTV.com News Staff
By WSBTV.com News Staff

ATLANTA — Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley opened up for the first time about his gambling suspension and mental health issues.

The NFL reinstated Ridley on Monday after he served a 2022 season suspension. On Wednesday, Ridley published a letter to fans on the Players Tribune website.

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The wide receiver owned up to the gambling suspension, which he called the “worst mistake of his life.”

“To the football world, and everyone who loves this game: 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.

“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. 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.

“This is hard for a dude like me to talk about, but I want to be real with everybody. Back then, I was depressed. I was battling anxiety. I didn’t even want to leave my house. Football was the only thing that ever gave my life meaning, and I couldn’t even find any joy in that at the time. Honestly, I couldn’t even get up off the chair in my living room. Everything was just … dark.”

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Ridley played for the Falcons from 2018 until 2021. On Halloween Night 2021, Ridley announced that he needed to step away from football for “mental health reasons.” It would be the last time Ridley would play a down for the Falcons.

In March 2022, the NFL announced Ridley violated the league’s gambling policies. Ridley was suspended for the entire 2022 season and had to forfeit his $11.1 million paycheck for “betting” on NFL games, including games the Falcons played.

Officials said they found no evidence that inside information was used, and no games were compromised.

In his letter Wednesday, Ridley said he felt angry and depressed after he stepped away from the team in 2021 and had been looking for anything to keep his mind off of other things.

“One day, I saw a TV commercial for a betting app, and for whatever reason, I downloaded it on my phone. I deposited like $1,500 total, literally just for something to do. I was going to bet like $200 on some NBA games that night, but then I just added a bunch more games to a parlay. I put the Falcons in on it. I was just doing it to root on my boys, basically. I didn’t have any inside information. I wasn’t even talking to anybody on the team at the time. I was totally off the grid,” Ridley wrote.

Ridley said he is now feeling stronger mentally and physically. With the league reinstating him, Ridley can join his new team the Jacksonville Jaguars

You can read Ridley’s full letter here.

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