LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — As the NFL confronts issues with players violating rules on gambling, the Bears are working to prevent their own breaches.
On Wednesday, the Bears welcomed an NFL representative to Halas Hall for a presentation on the league's gambling bylaws. That came after several NFL players recently received significant suspensions for violations.
"It was a great message from them," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "It was real simple. It had six points of what to do, what not to do, and it was really good."
In April, four Lions players were suspended for gambling violations. That included receiver Jameson Williams, a first-round pick of the team in 2022. Williams was found to have been gambling on non-NFL activities while at the Lions' team facility. Two of those four players were released by Detroit. The league suspended Williams for six games.
Several other players have been suspended this offseason for gambling violations. In 2022, current Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for the entire season for gambling on NFL games.
The NFL hasn't yet found any games that were compromised by gambling violations. As they've worked to fully understand the policy, players have found there are some complexities in the rules that needed to be clarified.
"You got to be aware of the rules and obviously the payoff doesn't really make much sense," Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. "If you're an NFL football player betting on a game, the money you get playing a game versus betting on a game doesn't really equate well. But there are some rules that a lot of guys were not aware of.
"If we go on a trip to Vegas and some of the guys say, 'Hey, we want to go to the casino in Vegas,' you can get docked for that. Whereas the (Raiders) players who are already in Vegas can go to a casino with no penalty. There are nuances to the rule. I didn't know that.
"It was good to kind of get educated on it."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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