Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley Adds Color to Gambling Controversy

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley had a good reaction to what many would consider a negative post on X (formerly known as Twitter). The post was in response to an ESPN report that the Jaguars had asked FanDuel to reimburse them for at least some of the $20 million used on the site that a former employee had stolen.

Calvin Ridley Reacts Well to Post

A person added a comment to a repost of Adam Schefter’s tweet about the Jaguars’ request to FanDuel. The post made a joke about Ridley’s past issues with gambling.

Ridley was with the Atlanta Falcons when the NFL suspended him indefinitely after discovering he bet on NFL games during the 2021 season. The Jaguars traded for him while he was serving the suspension in 2022. Ridley, who was reinstated last March, had fun with the post.

Nick lol

— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) February 2, 2024

After being reinstated, Ridley posted a message on The Players’ Tribune: “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.”

He added, “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.”

In 2021, Ridley took a leave of absence after Week 7 to focus on his mental health. He posted on social media, “These past few weeks have been very challenging and as much as I’d like to be on the field competing with my teammates, I need to step away from football at this time and focus on my mental wellbeing.”

Ridley, who was a second-team All-Pro in 2020, had a good first season with the Jaguars in 2023, posting 76 catches for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns.

Jaguars Employee Steals $22 Million

Amit Patel pleaded guilty to stealing $22 million through a VCC (virtual credit card system) over a three-and-a-half-year span when he was a financial employee with the Jaguars. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in December. Patel is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

ESPN reported that Patel spent about $20 million on daily fantasy and sports bets at FanDuel and lost around $1 million on DraftKings. FanDuel alerted the NFL to Patel’s betting after he placed sports bets last January. The Jaguars had no knowledge until the league alerted the team. Patel directly added funds from the team’s VCC to FanDuel.

MORE: What Is the NFL’s Gambling Policy?

Patel’s attorney, Alex King, said in December, “Mr. Patel did not use the Jaguars’ VCC to fund his lifestyle but in a horribly misguided effort to pay back previous gambling losses that utilized the Jaguars’ VCC program.”

FanDuel and the NFL declined to comment when ESPN reached out.

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