After months of speculation, NFL owners voted 31-1 last month in favor of the Oakland Raiders moving to Las Vegas. However, one of the biggest questions before and after the move got approved is how the NFL and its players would deal with the league's strict gambling policy in the face of having a team in Sin City. Now, the NFL is investigating reports of an arm wrestling contest, called The Pro Football Arm Wrestling Championship, at the MGM Grand casino in Vegas that involved over 30 current and former players.
Who was involved in event?
The current NFL players who have been reported to have been at the event include Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, San Francisco linebacker NaVorro Bowman, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills and Oakland Raider punter Marquette King.
Retired running back Marshawn Lynch, who has been reported to be considering a comeback with the Raiders, was also supposedly at the Las Vegas contest.
The Pro Football Arm Wrestling Championship actually wrapped up today, as it took place from April 5-9. The contest is going to be televised on CBS May 27-28, with the championship round being shown on June 3. A portion of the contest's prize money from both the team and individual events will be donated to the charities of the winning player's choice.
What was the NFL's response?
Brian McCarthy, who is the spokesman for the NFL, has said that the league was just made aware of the contest today and that it would be looking into it further to investigate what happened.
The NFL's vice president of communications, Joe Lockhart, came out and said that not one of the players at the event sought pre-approval from the league before entering the arm wrestling contest. Lockhart did add that if the players had asked in advance, they would have known that it was in direct violation of the NFL's gambling policy, which is where a possible punishment for all involved in the contest could come into play.
What will the punishment be?
All players who participated in the event are facing potential fines for violating the NFL's strict gambling policy. Specifically, they all violated the rule that states that league personnel are barred from making any promotional appearances at any type of casino or other gambling-related institutions.
It is not yet known if Lynch will be fined for his involvement, assuming he comes out of retirement. With the NFL's move to Las Vegas now being official, this event could serve as a test for the gambling policy going forward.
