The NFL’s indefinite suspension of Jets WR coach Miles Austin for non-football gambling made the league look extremely hypocritical.
When the news broke that Jets wide receivers coach Miles Austin was suspended indefinitely for gambling, you might have thought he broke one of the cardinal rules of the sport by betting on football games.
You’d be wrong.
Austin was suspended for gambling, yes. But none of it was apparently related to football, whether NFL or college.
Instead, he is being suspended for at least a year, if not more, for gambling on “table games and non-NFL professional sports,” according to his lawyers.
NFL hypocrisy on display in gambling suspension for Austin Miles
Gambling on sports of any kind is prohibited for NFL coaches, so it’s pretty cut-and-dry that Austin broke the rules.
The issue is whether or not those rules make any sense.
After all, the NFL is making millions and millions of dollars peddling gambling to its fans.
It’s certainly necessary to bar coaches and players from betting on football. But it’s questionable to prohibit them from betting on, say, the NBA when that league has nothing to do with the NFL. Bets on that league wouldn’t raise questions about the integrity of NFL games.
As it is, players are allowed to bet on other leagues. Coaches are not, which may be where Austin, a former player, got mixed up.
Does a coach really deserve a longer suspension for betting on fútbol than a player or coach suspended for domestic violence or sexual misconduct?
Austin is appealing the NFL’s decision, so we’ll have to see what comes of his suspension. For now, folks on NFL Twitter had thoughts about the NFL’s hypocrisy.
Austin should have known the NFL rules governing him better. But the league should also consider the optics on this one. They look ridiculous.
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