New York Jets wide receivers coach Miles Austin has been suspended by the NFL for a minimum of one year for violating the league’s playing policy.
On Friday, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed the suspension, which Austin has appealed. McCarthy added that the league will have no further comment until the appeal is resolved.
The former NFL wide receiver was out of action in the Jets’ 19-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.
Austin’s attorney and agent William P. Deni Jr. said in an emailed statement to the Associated Press that Austin did not bet on football.
“The NFL has suspended Miles Austin for betting from a legal mobile account on non-NFL professional sports and table games,” Deni said. “Miles has not bet on any NFL game in violation of the NFL Personal Gambling Policy. He has fully cooperated with the NFL investigation and is appealing his suspension. »
According to the NFL’s gambling policy, betting on sports, even if it’s not the NFL, is a violation.
Austin is in his second coaching season on Robert Saleh’s staff with the Jets. The two were also on the staff of the San Francisco 49ers in 2019, when Saleh was the defensive coordinator and Austin the offensive quality control coach. Austin, 38, was also a professional and college scouting intern for Dallas during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Austin caught 361 passes for 5,273 yards and 37 touchdowns during a ten-year NFL playing career. Signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2006, Austin played his first eight seasons in Dallas and made Pro Bowl appearances in 2009 and 2010.
He capped off his playing career with one-year stints in Cleveland (2014) and Philadelphia (2015) before retiring and taking up coaching.
