With betting-related controversies mounting across pro sports, the NFL may use this case to tighten its policies and demonstrate a zero-tolerance stance.
In the vast, multi-billion-dollar world of sports gambling, every piece, morsel, and crumb of information matters. In the NFL, teams are required to post practice and injury reports three days before each game. It gives the league a layer of transparency so that nobody has inside information on any player in the lead-up to a football Sunday.
If a player is prominent enough, betting lines and millions in wagers can hinge on his health and status for the upcoming matchup. It’s why, especially given the NBA betting scandal that rocked the sports world last Thursday, the Baltimore Ravens are facing heightened levels of scrutiny and potential punishment for what they did over the weekend involving superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Jackson, the two-time NFL MVP, hasn’t played since he injured his hamstring in the fourth quarter of Baltimore’s Week 4 loss to Kansas City on Sept. 28, which dropped the defensively deficient Ravens to 1-3 at the time. He had been listed as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday’s and Thursday’s injury report, leaving significant doubt whether he would be ready to return to the field Sunday against Chicago. On Friday, the Ravens listed Jackson as a full participant in practice despite not running any first-team reps and still leading the scout team. The NFL’s official injury report policy requires that a player who only runs the scout team be designated as a limited participant.
Jackson being listed as a full participant gave fans and gamblers across America false hope that he was headed toward his return and that the Ravens were a much more likely bet to break their four-game losing streak against the Bears. But on Saturday, Harbaugh and Baltimore said Lamar was a limited participant and ruled him out for Sunday’s game. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, betting lines quickly and suddenly dropped from the Ravens being 6.5-point favorites at home when Jackson was listed as a full practice participant to just 2.5 after the team ruled him out the next day.
Baltimore may now be subject to disciplinary action from the league, perhaps a fine or even a docked draft pick, for violating the league’s injury report policy, even if the team claims it was an accident.
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This infraction also occurred the day after nearly three dozen people were arrested, including Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, for their alleged participation in a mob-run illegal gambling ring and for illegally providing insider information on NBA games and player props. Given the attention sports leagues are currently receiving for any perceived impropriety, what happened with the Ravens and Jackson is under the proverbial microscope.
“It really is an honest mistake,” Harbaugh told reporters after Baltimore defeated Chicago, led by backup quarterback Tyler Huntley. “I can tell you this, nobody’s trying to hide anything. There’s no advantage to be gained with that.”
Harbaugh also made it clear that athletic trainers and public relations staff make the practice participation designation for players and said the mistake occurred because Jackson took as many reps as he would during a normal practice, only with the scout team, not the first team.
“When you dig in and you read the rule, at the end of the day, it wasn’t right,” he said. “That’s why, as soon as we found out, we changed it.”
It will be fascinating to see how the league reacts in this case.
Whether Harbaugh and the Ravens are telling the truth about Jackson — or if it even matters — all eyes are on pro sports leagues right now when it comes to sports betting and whether teams, players, or anyone is unfairly using information to gain even the appearance of an edge or advantage. The NBA released a memo on Monday stating that it is reviewing league policies regarding injury reporting, training, and educating NBA personnel on the matter.
Given the Ravens’ violation of the injury report policy on Friday and the severe backlash against the NBA and sports leagues for anything gambling-related right now, perhaps it’s time for the NFL to review its own policies. It might give the NFL a chance to use the Ravens as an example to show it’s tough on anything that can be seen as betting-related irregularities or corruption.
This seems like just one example of the backlash against gambling-related corruption in sports, a reckoning that’s only beginning to unfold.
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