December 30, 2022
What Jets’ Coach Miles Austin’s Suspension Means for Sports Betting
Jets WR Coach Miles Austin’s Suspension for Legal Online Gambling Raises a Question—Is it Time for Sports Leagues to Reconsider Their Gambling Policies?
- New York Jets Wide Receivers Coach Miles Austin Received a Minimum One-Year Suspension for Legally Wagering on Non-NFL Sports.
- NFL Players Are Allowed to Wager on Any Non-NFL Sports According to NFL Gambling Policy, but all Other NFL Personnel, Including Coaches, are Prohibited from Betting on Sports.
- Sports Leagues Have Shied Away from Permitting Gambling by Employees for Years, but Could that Change with Their Association with Gambling Expansion Across the US?
New York Jets wide receivers coach Miles Austin has been suspended by the NFL for a minimum of one year for violating the league’s gambling policy.
According to CBS News, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed the suspension on December 22, which Austin is appealing. McCarthy added the league would have no further comment until the appeal is resolved.
Austin, a former NFL wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, did not coach in the Jets’ 19-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars the prior Thursday night.
However, Austin’s attorney and agent William P. Deni Jr. said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that Austin did not gamble on football. “The NFL suspended Miles Austin for wagering from a legal mobile account on table games and non-NFL professional sports,” Deni said. “Miles did not wager on any NFL game in violation of the gambling policy for NFL personnel. He has been fully cooperative with the NFL’s investigation. He is appealing his suspension.”
Per the NFL’s gambling policy for personnel, wagering on sports — even if not NFL games — is a violation.
Austin is in his second season coaching on Robert Saleh’s staff with the Jets. The two were also on the San Francisco 49ers’ staff together in 2019, when Saleh was the defensive coordinator and Austin an offensive quality control coach. The 38-year-old Austin also served as a pro and college scouting intern for the Dallas Cowboys during the 2017 and ’18 seasons.
Austin caught 361 passes for 5,273 yards and 37 touchdowns during a 10-year NFL playing career. Signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Monmouth in 2006, Austin played his first eight seasons in Dallas and made the Pro Bowl in 2009 and 2010.
He finished his playing career with one-year stints in Cleveland (2014) and Philadelphia (2015) before retiring and pursuing coaching.
The Current NFL Gambling Policy Creates an Uneven Playing Field
An underreported aspect of Austin’s suspension is the fact that, assuming his attorney’s statement is accurate, the same wagers would not have violated the NFL’s gambling policy during his playing days.
Per a March 8, 2022 report by Mike Florio, NFL players are permitted to gamble on non-NFL sporting events.
The NFL policy states that, “All NFL Personnel other than Players are further prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating bets on any other professional (e.g., NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA, USTA, MLS), college (e.g., NCAA basketball), international (e.g., World Baseball Classic, World Cup), or Olympic sports competition, tournament or event.”
The key words are “other than Players.” Although the policy doesn’t say it directly, this means that players can indeed place bets on all other pro sports, on college sports, and on international sporting events.
So, while Austin was a player (and likely earning a significantly higher salary) he was permitted to gamble on non-NFL sporting events, but once he retired from playing and was hired as an NFL coach, the policy prohibited him from continuing this practice.
Florio asked the NFL at the time to explain their stance on allowing NFL players to gamble on non-NFL sporting events. The NFL gave the following statement:
“Casual betting on other sports by players has always been permitted and a right protected by the NFLPA,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy explained via email. “It is not permitted by any league or club personnel. All personnel and players are counseled to avoid associations with known gamblers. In addition, all personnel, including players, who incur gambling debt greater than $10,000 to any person or gambling-related enterprise must promptly notify the NFL Security Department. NFL personnel, including players, are also reminded of their obligation to report violations or potential violations of the gambling policy, including improper approaches or solicitations by others, to the NFL Security Department or via the Protect the Shield hotline or website.”
The Florio report came in the wake of the NFL’s suspension of Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley in March of 2022. Ridley was suspended through at least the conclusion of the 2022 season for betting on NFL games during the 2021 season.
According to a news release from the league, Ridley placed bets on NFL games during a five-day period in late November while he was not with the team and was away from the Falcons’ facility on the non-football illness list.
A source at the time who reviewed the findings of the investigation told The Athletic: Ridley placed the bets via a mobile app in Florida, and officials there noticed unusual activity and reported it to Genius Sports, the firm that handles data and sports betting information for the NFL. Per the source, Ridley placed three parlays, a three-team, five-team, and eight-team, and bet on the Falcons to win in each of them. The bets were all made between Nov. 23-28. The Falcons beat the Jaguars on Nov. 28.
Ridley’s agent did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
Ridley tweeted after his suspension was announced, “I bet $1,500 total I don’t have a gambling problem.”
Per the release, the NFL conducted an investigation that found there was no evidence indicating “any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way” and that no coaches, team staff, teammates or other players were aware Ridley was betting on games.
“There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success – and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league – than upholding the integrity of the game,” Goodell wrote in a note informing Ridley of his suspension. “This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.
“For decades, gambling on NFL games has been considered among the most significant violations of league policy warranting the most substantial sanction. In your case, I acknowledge and commend you for your promptly reporting for an interview, and for admitting your actions.”
The Falcons released a statement that said they were made aware of the NFL’s investigation on Feb. 9.
“We have cooperated fully with the investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions,” the statement reads. “We are moving forward in the 2022 season with the decision that was made. With the decision that was made by the NFL, any further questions on the investigation should be directed to the league office.”
Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in an interview on the same day the team was notified on the NFL investigation that The Falcons “would love” to have Ridley return to the franchise.
“I know we would love to have the young man back to play for us, but where that sits with him, I don’t know,” Blank said. “At some point, with free agency coming up and then the draft, we have to have a full understanding about that. I think he and his agent understand that as well.”
Ridley is still officially suspended indefinitely but will be able to petition for reinstatement on Feb. 15, 2023. The 27-year-old entered the NFL in 2018 as a first-round pick.
At the time of Ridley’s suspension and the NFL’s subsequent clarification of NFL gambling policy, Mike Florio argued that an NFL player’s ability to bet on non-NFL games, particularly college football, seems odd, and risky. According to Florio, plenty of NFL players still have close ties to their college programs. To the extent that there’s inside information within those college programs, recently former members of those programs are in prime position to get it, and to act on it.
Perhaps an even odder wrinkle to the NFL gambling policy is the fact that NFL coaches and other personnel are prohibited from placing the same bets that players are allowed to, as exhibited by Miles Austin’s recent suspension.
Based upon the NFL’s reference to the fact that the right is “protected by the NFLPA,” it is likely that the NFL Players Association union has negotiated for this protection, which is in turn lost once a player retires and later becomes other NFL personnel. It seems likely that the NFL would like to eliminate this protection, but that the league isn’t willing to give up other concessions in order to make it happen.
“Upholding the Integrity of the Game”
The NFL isn’t the only athletic league concerned with upholding the integrity of the game. From the 1919 Chicago Black Sox in professional baseball to points shaving in college basketball and NBA referee Tim Donaghly’s federal conviction, sports leagues have consistently battled fears that fans will question the integrity of the game due to gambling scandals.
While intentionally throwing games, or even altering the final score, surely would draw the veracity of sports into question, other cases are less clear cut. A prime example is Pete Rose, who despite his stellar professional baseball career was banned from the league and has never been inducted into baseball’s hall of fame due to bets he placed during his coaching career. This is despite the fact that Rose has consistently claimed that he never bet against the Cincinnati Reds, the team he was coaching.
Sports leagues have historically played it safe, attempting to distance themselves from the gambling world. However, athletes—with their love for competition—haven’t always felt the same. Look no further than Michael Jordan’s revelation on The Last Dance that he had to retrieve teammate Dennis Rodman from a Vegas bender during the Bull’s final NBA playoff run.
This is likely why professional sports leagues have long been reticent to locate a team in Las Vegas. However, that too has changed, first with NHL’s Golden Knights, then the WNBA’s Aces, and most recently the relocation of the NFL’s Raiders.
Sports gambling, and particularly discussion of betting spreads, was also long considered taboo for sports commentators. Now gambling is a regular portion of pre-game analysis and commentator and former NFL kicker Pat McAfee reportedly inked a $120 million dollar deal with FanDuel. Most professional teams are now sponsored in part by sportsbooks, and commercials between plays regularly promote their websites. European League soccer players advertise gambling websites on their uniforms. The relationship between sports and gambling has drastically changed.
Following Calvin Ridley’s suspension, Mike Florio opined that, “[t]he bright line regarding no betting on pro football arguably should extend to other sports, especially college football.” But perhaps the ease with which Ridley’s gambling was uncovered supports a counterargument. Namely, if sports leagues are embracing legalized gambling, why shouldn’t they allow their employees to wager on events they have no connection to?
Perhaps that is more than leagues are currently willing to consider. In the meantime, Miles Austin will continue to serve out a year’s suspension for placing bets as an NFL coach that would have been fully allowed when he was a player.