Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said after he and team officials received the NFL’s revised gambling policy, they spent time studying it.
Then they did their own, less confusing, presentation to Broncos players.
“We got a packet from the league,” Payton told reporters Thursday (via Pro Football Talk). “Obviously, when policies change, it’s our job to educate [the players]. [Vice President of football operations & compliance] Mark Thewes was awesome.
“We’re professional teachers. The packet we received, we looked at, studied [it] closely and then we presented it in our own PowerPoint. I probably had 20 minutes on it to really make sure everyone has it.”
The NFL’s gambling policy has been called out as too technical, and Payton agreed that the recent spate of gambling-related suspensions — including four members of the Detroit Lions — suggests the message needs to be clarified.
“If you’re a teacher and half your class get a D, you better look at yourself,” Payton said. “It’s not the policy, but it’s the implementation, the understanding, and the educating of the policy. I presented a week and a half ago, and now someone officially will present [it].
“Hopefully, it won’t be from that eight-page handout we received because that was more confusing after I read it than it was before I looked at it.”
The NFL can see the reaction from around the league about confusion over the new policy. Now it’s time to correct the situation.
