Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that wide receiver Santonio Holmes is one of 25 NFL players that has invested in a Alabama bingo and gaming operation. This involvement could be in violation of league rules as players are not allowed to be involved in any gambling related activities. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello offered: “If it were to be determined that an NFL employee had made an investment in violation of league policy on gambling-related activities, that individual would be directed to withdraw the investment and it would be reviewed for potential discipline.”
As of now the NFL does not have the ability to contact or discipline any of the players involved due to the lockout. Once a new collective bargaining agreement is put into place, this story could resurface.
Regardless of how this plays out, this is not good news for Santonio Holmes who already served a 4-game suspension last year for off the field incidents. Holmes could be headed to free agency under a new collective bargaining agreement and depending on the outcome of the NFL investigation this incident could lower his price tag.
From the Jets perspective this could help the team bring back Santonio at a lower price, or may even lead them into a different direction (see Braylon Edwards). Just another twist to add to the New York Jets personnel decisions.
