After Thursday’s OTA practice, Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams spoke publicly for the first time since being handed a six-game suspension for participating in a non-NFL game at a team facility.
Williams said he was unaware that what he did was a violation of NFL guidelines. When asked to provide details of the incident, he was unable to respond, saying: “I’m not sure. It’s been a while.”
Williams denied that he bet on many games.
“No frequent gambling. I’m not a gamer. I’m a football player,” Williams said.
He heard about his suspension Thursday night before it hit the news and was taken completely by surprise by the news.
“It hit me out of the blue. It hit a few other players in the league and on my team out of the blue,” Williams said. “I was not aware of this situation. But it happened and I took it by the chin. I was ready to move on when things moved on and I faced the consequences. That was my whole plan, to put things behind me and just look to the better days.”
The NFL has insisted that its education program on the league’s gambling policy is clear and thorough. In a recent ESPN article, David Highhill, the NFL’s vice president and general manager of sports betting, explained the process:
“The education and training that players receive is different than what NFL/club employees receive and that is different than what officials receive,” Highhill wrote. “We make it very clear in the training that if you are involved in the NFL you can never bet on the NFL.
“There should be no misunderstandings about the guidelines,” he added.
However, ESPN reported in the same article that the league is currently investigating a second wave of potential gambling violations. The first wave included five suspensions, four by Lions players: Williams and Stanley Berryhill were each suspended for six games for participating in non-NFL games at a team facility. Quintez Cephus, CJ Moore and Commanders defenseman Shaka Toney have all been suspended indefinitely for attending NFL games. Soon after, the Lions parted ways with Berryhill, Cephus and Moore.
Williams is ready to get over it and focus on what he was picked for as 12th overall: playing football. Though he knows he has a lot to prove to Lions fans and his teammates, he wants to prove it to himself first.
“I feel like I have a lot to prove to myself before I can prove anything to anyone,” Williams said. “I have goals that I have set for myself. I just want to cross off my goal list, get on the field and stuff like that. Once those things come, hopefully the fans will be happy with how I play football, what I do and things like that.”
The #1 goal on this list: Win soccer games.
“We have to make it to the playoffs, that’s our number one goal,” Williams said. “I have to get to the playoffs, get deep into the playoffs, hopefully win the Super Bowl, things like that. I just want to win games with my team.”
Williams missed most of his rookie season while recovering from a cruciate ligament rupture. He made just six appearances – all in limited roles – and caught a single pass for a 41-yard touchdown.
Now fully into off-season training for the first time in his career, he’s already making a strong impression, especially with his distance running.
“We’re miles ahead with him,” said coach Dan Campbell on Thursday. “We didn’t even manage to do that with him last year. He couldn’t do any of that.”
Obviously, staying engaged during his six-game suspension will be a challenge for Williams, but the sophomore said he is now locked up and will remain so when he’s not with the team.
“I just plan to stay focused, keep working, no downtime, no downtime. I just have to keep track until I’m back in the team.”