On Monday, Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike was suspended for at least one year on Monday for betting on NFL games last season. On Tuesday, Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Uwazurike isn’t the only one deserving of blame.
Payton says that the rash of gambling suspensions of players — 10 suspensions in the last four months — is evidence that the teams and the league aren’t doing a good enough job of educating players about what is and isn’t allowed.
“When you have a bunch of players getting D’s, you have to start looking at the message,” Payton told USA Today. “And we’ve had a lot of D’s in our league this year with this policy.”
Payton questions whether it’s fair to players to tell them they’re banished for a year, removing them from the support systems that NFL teams can provide.
“And we’re going to send them home for a year, where they can’t be around. The idea that you just go away, shame on us,” Payton said, adding that his own yearlong suspension for Bountygate prevented him from talking to coaches and players and asking, “Do we want these young men to still have a chance to learn from their mistakes?”
Payton, who said last month that the Broncos had to create their own educational materials for the players about gambling because the information provided to the players by the league wasn’t good enough, also said he sees hypocrisy in a league that profits from gambling but treats players like pariahs if they participate.
“I know this: There’s a handful of owners that are owning these ‘problems,’ “ Payton said. “A player can’t have a share of DraftKings or FanDuel. It’s shameful. Embarrassing.”
