Arizona Cardinals cornerback Josh Shaw, currently on the injured reserve, has been suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season and all of the 2020 season for betting on NFL games. The fifth-year cornerback must act within three days if he wishes to appeal the ban.
The league says Shaw did gamble on multiple games but the investigation did not find Shaw used inside information. The league is also under the impression that nobody else involved with the team, including teammates and coaches, were aware of Shaw’s actions. Nonetheless, this is an extremely significant offense that will keep Shaw out of football for nearly a year and a half. Shaw cannot apply for reinstatement until Feb. 15, 2021.
“The continued success of the NFL depends directly on each of us doing everything possible to safeguard the integrity of the game and the reputations of all who participate in the league,” Roger Goodell said in an official league statement. “At the core of this responsibility is the longstanding principle that betting on NFL games, or on any element of a game, puts at risk the integrity of the game, damages public confidence in the NFL, and is forbidden under all circumstances. If you work in the NFL in any capacity, you may not bet on NFL football.”
The most well-known prior case of player gambling in the NFL was in 1963 when the Packers’ Paul Hornung and the Lions’ Alex Karras were both banned for the entire season. Both were reinstated the following season. Most recently, former Colts quarterback Art Schlichter was suspended in 1983 for betting on events from various sports, including football. Schlichter was also reinstated the following year.
It is not known if Shaw bet on Cardinals games or contests he was not playing in. However, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, Shaw is not believed to have been around the team since he landed on IR in August.
I’m told Shaw has not been around the team or the Cardinals facility since being placed on IR in August. Still, stunning that a player is suspended for gambling.
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) November 29, 2019
Shaw, 27, started 12 games for the Bengals in 2016. The 2015 fourth-round pick out of Florida and USC has spent time with the Bengals, Chiefs and Buccaneers. He’s started 14 of the 55 games he played in, recording an interception and recovering a fumble while defending seven passes. He has 82 solo tackles and 26 assisted tackles, including a pair for loss. It seems Shaw’s career is likely in jeopardy, though, with today’s ban.
