As has been proven time and again throughout the history of Cleveland’s football team, betting on the Browns hardly ever pays off. The latest person to be reminded of that fact was former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, who was famously benched by Bill Belichick for Vinny Testaverde in 1993 and cut by the team just weeks later.
A beloved figure in Cleveland despite the way his career with the Browns ended, Kosar had been appearing as a paid guest on the Cleveland Browns Radio Network and was a regular fixture on Cleveland Browns Daily and the Cleveland Browns Kickoff Show, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. That will no longer be the case as Kosar was pulled off the pregame radio show on Sunday after he placed the first legal sports bet in Ohio on the Tipico Sportsbook app as part of a promotion for the gambling site. Kosar bet $19,000 on the Browns to beat the Steelers and planned to donate the potential winnings to charity. Instead, the Browns lost to the Steelers and Kosar, who wore No. 19 when he starred with the Browns, lost his gig.
In a statement following Cleveland’s season-ending loss to Pittsburgh, the Browns confirmed Kosar’s wager led to his dismissal. “Earlier this week we notified Bernie, that per league policy, we were required to remove him from our pregame radio coverage for the season finale after he violated the NFL gambling policy by placing a bet on an NFL game,” a Browns spokesperson said in a statement. “We understand what Bernie means to this community and our history but as team contracted personnel hired to provide content on our media platforms, his bet was a violation of NFL rules and we must adhere to all NFL policy.”
In a statement of his own, Kosar confirmed his run with the Browns is over for the second time. “Steelers GameDay yet once again I was informed by the Browns that my services are no longer desired or needed,” Kosar wrote on Twitter. “I will not be doing today’s radio program. I am shocked & disappointed. Brown and Orange is my life.”
As we saw earlier this season with the harsh suspension former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley received for violating the league’s policy on members of the NFL betting on football, the league does not play around when it comes to wagering. However, especially as Kosar is neither involved with playing nor coaching pro football, it does seem a little ridiculous the league’s policy would have applied to the 59-year-old. Nevertheless, Kosar is now an ex-Browns employee, again.
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