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Calvin Ridley revealed he was battling anxiety and depression when he decided to "make the worst mistake" of his life and bet on NFL games. Last offseason, the NFL announced Ridley was being suspended for the entire 2022 season.
The NFL investigation showed that Ridley even bet on Atlanta Falcons games, who at the time were his team. Since then, Ridley has been traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This Monday, Ridley has been officially reinstated and he is set to continue his NFL career.
Ridley reflects on his costly mistake to bet on NFL games
"I f------ up. I’m not here to sugarcoat anything. In 2021, I made the worst mistake of my life by gambling on football. I paid the price, believe me. I’ve seen all the jokes.
I’ve seen all the hate. And I can shoulder all of that, no problem. All I want is for people to understand that, when I made those bets, there was a hell of a lot more going on with me. This is hard for a dude like me to talk about, but I want to be real with everybody.
Back then, I was depressed. I was battling anxiety. I didn’t even want to leave my house. Football was the only thing that ever gave my life meaning, and I couldn’t even find any joy in that at the time. Honestly, I couldn’t even get up off the chair in my living room.
Everything was just dark," Ridley wrote for The Players' Tribune. Now that Ridley is allowed to play again, he is determined to make it right this time. "I know I have a debt to pay back to the game. But when y’all talk about the name Calvin Ridley in 10, 20, 30 years ... I’m gonna make sure it rings out for the right reasons," Ridley concluded in his column.