Doyel: NFL is hypocritical about gambling, but Colts CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr. has no excuse
INDIANAPOLIS – The cornerbacks for the Indianapolis Colts, the ones they have left anyway, are bouncing the football all over the field. That’s not necessarily part of the drill, but it’s how their cornerbacks are doing it Tuesday at Colts minicamp. At least, the ones they have left.
They let two of their top three downfield corners go in the offseason, and their third cornerback, the one supposed to be their best outside corner this season, is under NFL investigation for violating league rules about gambling. His name is Isaiah Rodgers Sr. He’d probably be good at this drill.
We might never find out.
As it is, veteran slot corner Kenny Moore II is faring the best on this scoop-and-score drill, with Colts coaches bouncing a football crazily across the field – fumble! – while cornerbacks chase it, try to scoop it, hoping to score it. No need to name names, but they’re not very good at it. Then again, unless fumble-causing linebacker Shaquille Leonard returns from his mysterious back issue, it might not matter.
Last I saw, a Colts cornerback – not sure you’d know his name; doesn’t exactly narrow it down, does it? – was bouncing the football all over the field, swiping at it and smacking at it and finally booting it out of bounds. It’s not easy.
What is easy? Following NFL rules about gambling. Isaiah Rodgers Sr. should be out here chasing the ball. He should be smacking at it, booting it, watching the football bounce farther and farther away, the whole thing out of his control.
Oh wait.
Isaiah Rodgers Sr. knew better
For now we wait to learn the fate of Rodgers Sr., who has implicitly admitted to breaking NFL rules on gambling. Save your snark about the hypocrisy of a professional sports league, one that has nakedly flung itself into bed with sports gambling sites, conducting such an investigation. You’re not wrong, but that’ll keep for a few paragraphs.
For now, as we wait to learn just how badly Rodgers Sr. has damaged his career – and the 2023 Indianapolis Colts’ postseason hopes, if you care – let’s stick with what we know:
He knew better.
I’d use the word “allegedly,” but to be honest, I don’t feel like dancing around the topic. The day in June when Rodgers Sr. was identified as being under investigation for gambling on NFL teams – including the Colts – he issued a statement on social media where he said things like "I take full responsibility for my actions" and "I made mistakes," plus another reference to "mistakes" before concluding:
"I am very sorry for all of this."
One thing he didn’t say: The reports are wrong. Or misleading. Or even exaggerated.
He said things like “I made an error in judgment" and “I know I made mistakes.”
Rodgers Sr. didn’t do something innocently – oops? – only to learn, what do you know, there’s a rule against that! He knew better. Say what you want about the NFL, about its greed and hypocrisy of chasing the gambling dollar, but the league has made it abundantly clear to its players that they cannot gamble on the NFL ever, and they cannot gamble on any sport while at an NFL facility.
Whatever Rodgers Sr. has done, he did it to himself. But then, it’s worse than that.
He’s done it to the Colts, too.
Sports gambling is the cigarette of our generation
Rodgers Sr. wasn’t on the practice field Tuesday. Presumably wasn’t even in the building, but we don’t know that. As an organization, the Colts aren’t saying anything about the NFL’s investigation beyond what coach Shane Steichen said when the news broke last week, and he didn’t say much.
Insider: Steichen declines to answer most questions on Rodgers Sr. gambling investigation
Steichen was asked 15 questions that day, nine about Rodgers Sr. Including his opening statement, when he mentioned “the gambling issue,” Steichen had 10 different opportunities to address the behavior and future of Rodgers Sr., but he was no more insightful than in his opening remarks:
“All I’ll say on that is it’s an ongoing investigation with the NFL right now and we are constantly – it’s an ongoing process educating our players, educating our coaches on the situation. Beyond that, I will have probably no further comment going forward.”
Ten chances to talk about it, and Steichen never said the words “Isaiah Rodgers.” He never said the word cornerback, for heaven’s sake.
Doesn’t matter. We know what we know, and we can fill in the blanks on the rest.
Let’s start here: You know what sports gambling is, right? It’s the cigarette of our generation. All the cool kids are doing it, and the industry is pouring money into advertising and marketing and every other damn place – try to watch ESPN for more than 15 minutes without being told how much fun you can have on FanDuel or DraftKings – and the reckoning is coming.
Doyel in 2022: Sorts gambling is our next crisis, but until then, live it up dudes!
Nah, you’re right, nobody wants to hear that. Bah, what can it hurt? Gambling is all in fun, my guy. If you don’t like it, don’t do it. We’ve got it under control. Besides, we can stop at any time. Only an idiot would let gambling ruin his or her life.
But let’s keep it moving. Weren’t we discussing Isaiah Rodgers Sr.?
Is Rodgers good enough to get a second chance?
Let’s take Rodgers Sr. at his word, that he made mistakes and errors, that nothing in the initial reporting – including allegations that he bet on the Colts – warranted correction.
He’s done for the 2023 NFL season, is what that would mean, and maybe longer. Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley, who bet on his team, was suspended for the 2022 season. He’s back in 2023, now with the Jaguars, but he’s a star.
Isaiah Rodgers Sr. is just a guy.
Second chances are given on a sliding scale: The better you are, the better your shot at redemption. See what happened recently with the Detroit Lions? Four of their players were suspended in April for gambling, and three are gone. The only player the Lions held onto was receiver Jameson Williams. He’s a former first-round pick. He could be a star.
The rest of ‘em? Just guys.
If Rodgers Sr. is going to be more than that – was going to be more than that? – this is (was) the season. The Colts let Brandon Facyson leave in free agency and granted Stephon Gilmore’s wish to be traded, receiving in return a fifth-round draft pick.
That left Rodgers Sr. as the No. 1 outside corner – Kenny Moore II is the slot corner, remember – entering the final year of his contract. The timing was perfect. With just an average season in 2023, considering his youth (25) and speed (4.28 seconds in the 40), some NFL team would’ve given Rodgers Sr. a multi-year, eight-figure contract for 2024 and beyond. Start the bidding at two years and $10 million.
That’s what he was willing to risk. According to the website SportsHandle.com – the same one that broke the news on Calvin Ridley’s illegal gambling – Rodgers Sr.’s gambling activity was “pervasive (and) at least some of the wagers” were placed on the Colts. Oh, and he “appears to have made the wagers through an account opened by an acquaintance.”
Because it’s against NFL rules, and Rodgers Sr. knew it. Everyone knows it, but he’s the sixth NFL player (at least) to draw a league investigation this calendar year. And that doesn’t include Ridley, who was investigated last year.
The rules against gambling aren’t just obvious. They’re everywhere. The NFL requires mandatory gambling education. On top of that, the full gambling policy is in the player manual distributed annually to each player, who must sign for it to acknowledge receipt. The same policy, in simple-to-read form, is distributed to each team in a document that is then delivered to each player on roster. In case none of that works, teams must post gambling policy signs in their facilities.
Also, each NFL contract has an “integrity of the game” clause.
Isaiah Rodgers Sr. knew.
You know what’s most infuriating about this? Never mind the fate of the Colts in 2023. They’ll be fine, or they won’t. Life goes on. But Rodgers Sr. has two young children. As a sixth-round draft pick in 2020 he received a four-year, $3.4 million contract, with $2.7 million due this season. If he’s suspended, that money’s gone.
On top of that, Rodgers Sr. was one decent year away from getting rich, maybe even obscenely so, landing a contract worth what you call generational wealth.
Instead he’s like the rest of us, waiting to find out what the NFL will do to him, followed by what the Colts will do. Maybe, if he’s suspended for the 2023 season, someone will give him a chance in 2024. Maybe that team will be the Colts. Hard to say.
Once you lose control of the football, once it starts heading out of bounds, it could be gone for good.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Did Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers Sr. gamble away his NFL career?
