Myles Simmons ,
Facebook
Over the last week, there has been a lot of focus on gambling in the sports world, given the arrests involving current members of the NBA.
At least one coach elected not to stress the NFL’s gambling policy over the last week, with San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan noting that it was more of an offseason issue.
But with the Jaguars playing the Raiders in Las Vegas this weekend, their first-year head coach Liam Coen isn’t trying to leave anything up to chance.
He told reporters in his Wednesday press conference that the issue came up on Monday and he’ll go over it again on Friday in team meetings.
“That is, I know, something that we’re all taking seriously,” Coen said, via transcript from the team. “This is a business trip. We should have absolutely zero issues with that, but I understand and appreciate the seriousness of it all. It’s real. It’s happening in our world. Obviously, the fantasy, the betting, and all that. It’s a big deal in our world. And so, we addressed it on Monday. We’ll address it again before we leave that guys, we’re going a little bit earlier in the morning, Saturday morning, obviously with Florida-Georgia coming up this weekend. So, we’re getting out there earlier. We will be practicing at a local school, but when we do get back to that hotel, guys, we’re all business here.”
While many hotels in Las Vegas also function as casinos, Coen has told the players to stick to team-controlled environments.
“Don’t even go have a dinner in there guys,” Coen said, referring to all casinos and sportsbooks. “Let’s just stay away. We got great food in our area here. Let’s just stay away from all that.”
This will be the second matchup between the Jaguars and Raiders in Las Vegas. Last year, the Raiders defeated Jacksonville 19-14 in Week 16.
Big Shield combines gambling, pro football, and the mob into a cautionary tale regarding inside information, and the dangers that come from selling it.
Football is back and so are Mike Florio and Chris Simms! Watch PFT Live for the latest news coming out of the regular season, postseason and offseason every Monday to Friday at 7 a.m. ET on Peacock and the NBC Sports NOW channel.
