Detroit Lions’ second-year wideout Jameson Williams has broken the silence on his six-game suspension.
Last month, the NFL suspended Williams for six games after an investigation found that he was betting on sports games, though none of them were NFL contests.
Williams has stated that he won’t appeal the six-game suspension. The sophomore wideout broke his silence on the suspension, via ESPN’s Eric Woodyard:
“I didn’t know things like this was coming, but I took me some time, and I just thought about the better days and moving forward. It’s not my last day living so I just look forward to the better days…
I just left it alone. They gave me six games and we left it at that. I just look forward to coming back Week 7, getting back with team out there and playing the game.”
Williams added that he’s “not a gambler…I’m a football player,” per Woodyard.
The Lions traded up to snag the Alabama wide receiver in round one with the No. 12 selection a year ago. Williams missed most of the year recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in the Crimson Tide’s national championship game loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. He played six games last season, with his lone catch being a 41-yard touchdown.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral Detroit Lions stories via Google! Follow Us
Last year, Jacksonville Jaguars’ star wide receiver Calvin Ridley (then a member of the Atlanta Falcons), was suspended the entire 2022 season for gambling on sports games, including NFL contests.
Sports gambling has been a controversial subject for many years. Back in 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which previously outlawed sports gambling in the nation.
The Supreme Court’s ruling granted each state the freedom to launch sports betting. To date, more than 30 U.S. states have legalized and launched some fashion of sports gambling. The major North American professional sports leagues have partnerships with prominent sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars and BetMGM.