Nicholas Petit-Frere’s gambling suspension shows NFL’s hands not completely clean
Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.
However, after reading the 23-year-old lineman’s statement on Thursday morning, it’s clear that the league needs to start shouldering some of the blame for the uptick in gambling policy violations instead of playing judge, jury and executioner.
“The betting I engaged in was NOT NFL related and was legal under Tennessee law,” Petit-Frere’s statement read. “It is only being sanctioned because it occurred at the Titans facility. I have always strived in every stage of my life to follow the rules. I did not knowingly break the rules. Even after attending a league presentation, I was unaware about the specifics around placing bets from a team facility. I will do everything in my power to help the team during training camp and will be prepared when I return to the roster during the season."
Petit-Frere’s admission regarding the NFL’s failure to clearly explain the policy has been shared by many other players over the last few months. And it’s not the first time Petit-Frere himself has made it known he wasn’t 100 percent clear on the specifics of the gambling policy.
During an interview with The Tennessean in May, Petit-Frere acknowledged then that the NFL was setting players up for failure by not clearly explaining the gambling policy to players and not defining what was permitted and what was not.
"I’ll be honest with you: There wasn’t really a lot of teaching from the NFL and things like that," Petit-Frere said at the time. "I was actually one of the people who asked the most questions when it came to fantasy football and things like that. I just wanted to make sure I learned as much as I could. When we heard about those suspensions and things like that, I’ll be honest, a lot of the guys felt like there just wasn’t a lot of teaching in general about this offense. I just feel like that’s something the NFL should kind of harbor a little bit more and understand these guys are making mistakes that they didn’t even know was a thing."
Nine players have been suspended in 2023 for gambling violations — five in April plus Petit-Frere, Isaiah Rodgers, Rashod Berry and Demetrius Taylor on Thursday. Fourteen NFL players have been suspended for gambling-related issues dating back to the 1960s — 11 of which have come in the last five years.
While the NFL has taken steps to clarify its gambling policy over the last eight weeks, it’s clear more work needs to be done. Petit-Frere’s situation should serve as a cautionary tale for those who are still not clear on the rules to demand answers.
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