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Tuesday on 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe, Jonas Knox, Brady Quinn and LaVar Arrington explain why Calvin Ridley betting on his own sport comes with an inherent advantage and is therefore detrimental to the integrity of league as well as the sportsbooks.
Jonas Knox: "He's lucky he's not banned for life, and I'm serious about that, because it's not about his $1,500. It's about conversations he has elsewhere and now all of a sudden those people are like, 'Wait a second. So I got an NFL player who feels this strongly about a game, maybe I'll bet something on it.' And there's money on top of that and money on top of that. It doesn't just end with his $1,500 bet...
You can't mess around with this stuff. And people want to dismiss it like it's not the biggest deal in the world. Alright, so let him do an eight game parlay and guess what happens? He's going to start chasing his bets. And when you get desperate, you want to start chasing your bets, you're going to start making more phone calls, and more and more people are going to be implemented. They have no choice but to throw the book at him. I don't feel bad."
Brady Quinn: "The reality of it is he went to bet on the NFL because he thought he had a little bit of an advantage. It's not even about that week or that particular game. He gets more data and information on these teams as a player."
LaVar Arrington: "So it's like insider trading."
Brady Quinn: "Exactly, so it's not about the dollar amount. It's about the slippery slope that comes along with this if you allow it."