Jameson Williams among 5 NFL players given major suspensions for gambling

The NFL announced on Friday that five players — Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill, Quintez Cephus, C.J. Moore, of the Detroit Lions and Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders — were being suspended by the league for violations of the NFL’s gambling policy.

According to the league, Moore, Cephus, and Toney have been suspended for the entire 2023 NFL season. Williams and Berryhill are facing six-game suspensions.

In a statement, the league indicated that Moore, Cephus, and Toney can apply for reinstatement to the league at the conclusion of the 2023 season. The NFL also indicated that according to their investigation, no “inside information” was used by the players. The bets were placed on games during the 2022 season:

“The gambling policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, including players, prohibits anyone in the NFL from engaging in any form of gambling in any club or league facility or venue, including the practice facility.

“A league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”

According to the statement, Berryhill and Williams are “eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games.” Their six-game suspensions will take begin following the final roster cutdown day.

The Detroit Lions announced subsequent actions of their own on Friday, following the statement from the NFL, as team released both Moore and Cephus.

“As a result of an NFL investigation, it came to our attention that a few of our players had violated the league’s gambling policy,” declared Detroit Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes in a statement from the organization. “These players exhibited decision making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules. We have made the decision to part ways with Quintez and C.J. immediately. We are disappointed by the decision making demonstrated by Stanley and Jameson and will work with both players to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.”

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Williams and Berryhill were found to have placed bets on college games, but from the team’s facility. The other suspended players were found to place bets on NFL games, which is not allowed under the league’s gambling policy:

As noted by Tom Pelissero, players can place bets on sports, but not on NFL games. They also cannot place bets on any sports while inside NFL venues/facilities.

The suspensions come following the reinstatement of Calvin Ridley to the league. Ridley was suspended indefinitely after it was discovered that he gambled on games during the 2021 season. Ridley was recently reinstated, and will play for the Jacksonville Jaguars this season.

Following the announcement Williams released a statement through his agency:

“Alliance Sports confirms that its client, Jameson Williams, has been suspended by the NFL for six games for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. Jameson takes full responsibility for his actions and is very apologetic to the NFL, his teammates and the fans and city of Detroit. However, it is important to note that Jameson’s violation was not for betting on football but rather due to a technical rule regarding the actual location in which the online bet was placed - and which would otherwise be allowed by the NFL outside of the club’s facility. Jameson would never intentionally jeopardize the integrity of the game he loves so much and looks forward to getting back to his team as soon as possible.”

This post will be updated as additional information becomes available.