Attorney Mike Caspino pushed back hard on the gambling allegations involving Cardinals director of college scouting Ryan Gold, calling them “ blatantly false.” In a statement released Sunday to PFT and others, Caspino said Gold was not the one making NFL wagers and was not the source of any inside draft information.
Caspino’s explanation to Adam Schefter of ESPN drew a sharp distinction between Gold and the betting claim. According to Caspino, Gold’s wife was the one placing $10 bets each week with a group of high-school friends, and Gold had nothing to do with it.
The more serious accusation centered on draft secrecy, with the allegation that Gold had passed along the Cardinals’ picks before they were announced. Caspino said that never happened because Gold did not know the selections in advance.
He said only owner Michael Bidwill and G.M. Monti Ossenfort had that information.
That claim is at least believable given how tightly some teams guard draft information. Ossenfort’s approach was described as fitting the Bill Belichick school of extreme secrecy, where even the identity of a pick can be shielded through internal misdirection. The source pointed to a 2005 example with the Dolphins, when then-coach Nick Saban told staffers the team would take Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards with the second overall pick, only to choose Auburn running back Ronnie Brown instead.
Chris Simms has also described on PFT Live how, during his time with the Patriots, access to the draft board room was restricted to a very small group.
Even so, there is still a gap between when a name is shared inside the draft room and when it becomes public with the announcement. The source notes it is not clear when the information at issue was allegedly passed along relative to the actual picks.
Caspino said he plans to appeal. The next step could come down to whether Gold gets a fair and impartial hearing from a neutral party, or whether the league itself handles the second review of a decision it has already made.
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