Mike Florio ,
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A bizarre, and poorly timed, change to the Ravens’ Friday practice report has been explained by the team.
“Lamar Jackson was present for and participated fully in our entire practice ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bears,” the Ravens said in a statement issued on Saturday afternoon. “Upon further evaluation and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take starter reps in practice , we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”
The specific rule triggering the change has not previously been publicized by the league. If there even is such a rule, the Ravens apparently weren’t aware of it.
Jackson fully participated in Friday’s practice. He did not participate as the starting quarterback. So his participation was limited.
The situation further underscores the apparently broad range of participation that counts as “limited.” What really is “limited”? Who really knows?
Actually, it could be argued that, if a starter takes no first-team reps in a practice, he didn’t practice at all.
The broader concern is this, given the NBA’s still-steaming gambling scandal. Someone knew Lamar wasn’t going to start on Saturday, after he was listed as fully participating in practice and before he was ruled out on Saturday. Although the teams are typically inclined to hold their cards close to the vest for competitive purposes, someone knew the truth. And someon could have shared the truth with others. And they could have shared the truth with others. And someone could have acted accordingly in the sportsbook apps on their phones.
Rozier’s case came to light because sportsbooks flagged unusual betting activity. If someone decides to not be a pig at the trough, the alarms won’t sound. And it will become impossible to know whether inside information was misused.
Big Shield combines gambling, pro football, and the mob into a cautionary tale regarding inside information, and the dangers that come from selling it.
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