Player On Team With Sportsbook Ad On Their Helmet In League With Major Sportsbook Partnerships Has Been Suspended 41-Games For Sports Gambling
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.Daily Faceoff -- The NHL suspended Ottawa Senators restricted free agent forward Shane Pinto for 41 games on Thursday for sports betting-related activity, the first suspension for gambling in hockey in 75 years. The historic ban also marks one of hockey’s lengthiest suspensions for off-ice conduct.
In a statement, the NHL said the league’s “investigation found no evidence that Pinto made any wagers on NHL games.” The NHL also said it now considers the matter closed, and absent new information, will have no further comment on the situation.
On one hand, it's getting a little harder to feel bad for all these athletes who are getting suspended for placing wagers on sports. It's hard to feel bad for a guy who gets caught doing something that he 100% knows that he's not allowed to do. And nowadays it would be so easy to just get a friend to make a bet for you, and then you can just figure it out on CashApp or something like that. Dumb decisions don't garner a ton of sympathy.
But on the other hand….
Andre Ringuette. Getty Images.
What are we even doing here? At some point, common sense needs to kick in here. Are you going all in on sports gambling, or are you vehemently against it? Because a 41-game suspension for gambling on non-NHL games seems vehemently against it. But the Ottawa Senators needs someone to pay the bills around there with a helmet ad, and the NHL needs someone to keep the lights on with an official partnership. As long as those checks keep clearing, it seems like they're all in. Just pick a lane, is all we're saying.
Sidenote: If there's any way this leads to the Philadelphia Flyers being able to pry Shane Pinto out of Ottawa, then I fully support the suspension and think Gary Bettman is doing a fantastic job navigating the difficulties of this new age.