Miles Austin, the wide receivers coach for the New York Jets, was suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Friday for violating the league’s gambling policy.
Austin is appealing the suspension, according to league spokesman Brian McCarthy. There will be no further comment from the league.
According to a source familiar with the situation, there is no evidence that Austin was betting on NFL games. However, the source claimed Austin was betting on other professional sports leagues, which is against NFL rules for coaches and team personnel. However, players are permitted to wager on other sports leagues, including college football. Because of the sensitivity of the situation, the person spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Austin’s lawyer, Bill Deni, said in a statement that the 10-year NFL veteran bet on “table games and non-NFL professional sports” from a legal mobile account, but that he did not gamble on the NFL.
Austin, 38, is in his second season as the Jets’ wide receivers coach. He began his coaching career in 2019 as an offensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He had spent the previous two seasons as a pro and college scouting intern for the Dallas Cowboys, the team for which he had played in eight of his ten NFL seasons.
Austin made two Pro Bowls with the Cowboys and was named the Pro Football Writers Association of America’s Most Improved Player in 2009. Austin played his final two seasons with the Cleveland Browns (2014) and the Philadelphia Eagles (2015). (2015).
Austin grew up in New Jersey and attended Monmouth University.
After his time with the Cowboys ended in April 2014, Austin competed in the World Poker Tour World Championship but fell short of the prize pool.
This is the second gambling scandal involving the NFL this year. Calvin Ridley, then of the Atlanta Falcons, was suspended for a year in March after betting less than ten times while on injured reserve with a non-football illness. Ridley, on the other hand, was betting on NFL games and occasionally on the Falcons, according to the league.
