Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers called his hundreds of bets, some of which involved the team he plays for, which were allegedly funneled through an account without his name on it to avoid detection, an “error in judgment.”
As we continue to wait for whatever lengthy punishment comes his way, he deserves credit for getting ahead of the storm and accepting it. While I’m not suggesting Rodgers has a gambling problem, I’m here to remind everyone that having a gambling addiction is recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Unlike, say, the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing drugs, its policy on gambling is always going to be a little less black and white, at least partly because some people have a harder time controlling their gambling habits than others. Rodgers knowingly went through a process of using a third-party account just to get his bets in, even after rising star receiver Calvin Ridley lost a full year of his prime for similar infractions. Rodgers will now be looped in with other players who will miss time in 2023 because of actions in ’22, after Ridley had been made an example of. Without all of the information the NFL will inevitably dump on some unsuspecting Friday afternoon, we should balance our scorn with some sympathy.
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