Jets Receivers Coach Miles Austin Suspended for Gambling

New York Jets wide receivers coach Miles Austin has been suspended for a minimum of a year for violating the NFL's gambling policy, ESPN reported on Friday. Austin is expected to appeal the suspension.

There was no indication, according to the report, that Austin bet on the NFL, but rather on other sports, which is a violation of the league's gambling policy. The NFL is not expected to make a statement until after Austin's appeal is resolved.

Austin played in the NFL for 10 years for the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and most prominently with the Dallas Cowboys, where he earned two Pro Bowl nominations.

He retired as a player in 2015 before becoming a scouting intern for the Cowboys from 2017 to 2018. The following year, he became part of a San Francisco 49ers coaching staff that included Robert Saleh. When Saleh was hired by the Jets to be their head coach, he brought Austin to New York to be his wide receivers assistant.

This is the second suspension the NFL has levied against one of its players or coaches in the last year, and the third since 2019. In March, then-Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley was given a year’s ban. Ridley was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars at the trade deadline in November. In 2019, Cardinals DB Josh Shaw was suspended for the entire 2020 season for betting on NFL games. He never played in the NFL again.

In a letter written to Ridley informing him of the suspension, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spelled out what was at stake.

"There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success – and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league – than upholding the integrity of the game," Goodell wrote. "This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL."

Gambling is not a new development for the NFL. In 1963, Green Bay's Paul Hornung and Detroit's Alex Karras were both suspended for placing multiple bets on league games for various amounts. It again happened in 1983, when Colts QB Art Schlichter racked up a significant amount of debt, which got the attention of then-commissioner Pete Rozelle. All players involved in those incidents received one-year suspensions.

It is believed Austin is the first coach to receive a year's suspension for gambling.