Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley penned an emotional Players’ Tribune essay discussing his mental health and suspension from the NFL after betting on games in the 2021 season.
The essay, published Wednesday, comes two days after Ridley was reinstated by the league nearly a year and a half after his last NFL snap. The 28-year-old wrote he did not want to “sugar coat” anything, saying gambling was the “worst mistake of [his] life.” He also discussed his depression and anxiety at the time of the incident, spoke about his childhood and gave readers a candid look into his inner struggles.
“This is hard for a dude like me to talk about, but I want to be real with everybody,” Ridley wrote. “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.”
