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Leigh Steinberg, the legendary NFL agent, spoke with Anthony Lima of 19 News Cleveland Friday and said the league “is a little bit pregnant” when it comes to gambling.
"The biggest fear in professional sports is that somehow a player would be compromised by a gambler," he said. "There is an iron wall between gambling and players. It's always been there. A matter of fact, associating with gamblers is in every standard player contract. (It is) something not to do."
Like many, Steinberg noted the hypocrisy here.
"We now have NFL teams that own part of gambling or fantasy sports sites.
"But this one last fear (that) a player would be involved, using insider information to give away trade secrets to a gambler because they ran up big gambling debts, this is the fear because all of the sudden the fans can't rely on the fact that every player is trying as hard as they can and the rules are the same, then we don't have an athletic competition, we have an exhibition."
On Thursday the league announced the suspension of another four players for violating its gambling policy.
Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry of the Indianapolis Colts and free agent Demetrius Taylor are being suspended indefinitely -- through at least the 2023 season -- for betting on NFL games last season.
In addition, Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere is being suspended six games for betting on other sports at the workplace.
- Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
