After a CFL investigation led to finding bets he had placed on league games, including one he had participated in, former defensive lineman and Grey Cup winner Shawn Lemon has been suspended indefinitely by the league. Lemon played for more than a decade in the CFL before announcing his retirement earlier this month but was found to have placed bets in 2021 while competing for the Calgary Stampeders.
The news broke not too long after the NBA and MLB dealt with its own problems with players and employees betting on games.
The NBA recently suspended Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, brother of NBA champion Michael Porter Jr, for life following evidence being found he had not only bet on basketball games, but shared confidential information and actively left a game early to affect a bet. Porter placed just over $76k in bets, which is more than some salaries for CFL players.
Shohei Ohtani, undoubtedly the biggest star in baseball who signed a $700m contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last winter, had his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara found guilty of stealing $16m from the star player’s bank accounts in order to place sports bets through an illegal gambling ring. While questions still remain how much Ohtani may have known about the scandal, an FBI investigation concluded he had no involvement.
Representatives from each league explain to players the ramifications of placing bets and what is seen as legal and illegal in the eyes of the league. Most allow for players to place bets as long as it has nothing to do with the sport in which they play, hence why Lemon and Porter were suspended for betting on the CFL and NBA respectively.
In Lemon’s case, single-event sports gambling in Canada became legal in August of 2021, nearly two months after the CFL season had already begun. It is not known which games Lemon placed bets on at this time.
