The NFL has suspended Arizona Cardinals personnel executive Ryan Gold indefinitely for violating the league’s gambling policy.
The league said Friday that its investigation determined that Gold provided confidential, non-public inside information regarding 2026 draft selections by the Cardinals before the picks were announced, and Gold also participated in parlay bets on NFL and college games. The league didn’t say who Gold had provided with the information.
“The Gambling Policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, strictly prohibits anyone in the NFL from participating in or facilitating any form of sports gambling, and from providing third parties non-public information,” the NFL said in a statement. “Although there is no reason to believe the integrity of any NFL game was affected, the League takes any violation of the Gambling Policy with the utmost seriousness.”
The Cardinals also issued a statement, saying: “The NFL’s policies and expectations for all employees are clear, comprehensive, and consistently communicated. We fully support the league’s decision in this matter, which involves a single employee. Our focus remains on preparing for the start of training camp next week and the 2026 season.”
Gold, who is in his 13th season with the Cardinals, was promoted to director of college scouting in June 2025. He spent the previous three years (2022-24) as the assistant director of college scouting after working for four seasons (2018-21) as a college scouting coordinator.
Gold has the right to appeal the suspension. He couldn't immediately be reached for comment Friday.
The NFL has strict gambling policies for players and club and league personnel. The league has also dedicated significant resources to its gambling education program, reaching more than 20,000 people associated with the league.
The policy says players must not:
— place any bet on NFL football;
— throw or fix any NFL game or event, or otherwise manipulate or attempt to manipulate any play or other aspect of an NFL game;
— share confidential, non-public information regarding any NFL game, player or event with any third party.
NFL players — but not league or club staff — are allowed to legally place bets on other sports as long as they are off club property or not traveling with the team. They also are allowed to take part in traditional fantasy football leagues (prize money cannot exceed $250) and legally gamble at casinos on personal time.
The NFL said the Cardinals fully cooperated with the investigation and the league has seen no indication that any other member of the organization, coach or player was aware of or involved in this activity. The league also said there was no indication that any play or game was affected by this activity.
The NFL’s review included interviews with relevant people and an examination of electronic records.
At least 15 players have been suspended by the league for gambling violations since 1963, including several in recent years, but none since Isaiah Rodgers (then with the Indianapolis Colts) was suspended indefinitely in June 2023.
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FILE - Footballs are seen before an NFL football game in Philadelphia on Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — First responders in storm-battered Texas rushed to save people trapped in high waters Friday, as more heavy rain widened the danger from floods that have killed at least two people and left hundreds more in need of rescue.
A week of punishing downpours dumped more than 2 feet (60 centimeters) in some areas. The rain was expected to taper off, but another round of showers worsened already swollen rivers and flooded rural communities near the border with Mexico that had largely been spared major damage.
Near Ozona, a small town about 200 miles (322 kilometers) west of San Antonio, floodwaters spilled over Interstate 10. More than 50 people were rescued by boat from flooded apartments and a water-logged RV park.
A section of a bridge also collapsed over the Nueces River in Uvalde County, where months worth of rain has fallen in a span of days. In Uvalde, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio, floodwaters rushed through Miguel Vasquez’s home twice this week, leaving a layer of mud and knocking over his refrigerator and other items.
Debris was strewn around his neighborhood and a neighbor’s shed teetered over a washed-away section of the property. He said Friday that he'd been caught in the waters' current and nearly been swept away and drowned as he tried to get to his house Wednesday.
“I had to grab on with my hands and my feet. You couldn’t swim," he said, surveying the damage around him. "People think that when there’s a flood, you can swim. Swimming’s not going to help you. It’ll take you. The current’s too strong.”
Nearly 1 trillion gallons of water fell on the three hardest-hit counties over three days — enough to fill 1.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools or supply 11 million homes for a year.
Uvalde County alone got more rain in that period than California has seen over the last month, according to Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before filling the narrow river basins.
Emergency personnel across a wide swath of southern and central Texas have rescued more than 570 people, including stranded drivers and people trapped in homes, Gov. Greg Abbott said. Hill Country residents were beginning to clean up after floodwaters again barrelled down the Guadalupe River and through communities still reeling from deadly floods a year ago.
Vasquez evacuated Thursday. Had he stayed, he said, "I wouldn’t have been able to flee.”
Serena Reyna woke up Thursday morning to find her Kerrville boutique, Nu Accents, covered in debris after four feet of floodwater rushed into the store. She described the store as “a total loss.”
“The floors, I mean they’re soaked in mud and still you know an inch of water in some spots," she said. “Everything there was just mud and water and just debris.”
The Texas Department of Transportation said high waters closed a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 57 and that parts of the roadway were not expected to reopen until Monday.
In all, roughly 6 million residents across Texas were under a flood watch at various points this week.
Floodwaters had overrun Uvalde and cut off most outside routes, making it one of the hardest hit cities. The waters were receding Friday, and officials said a major highway, Route 90, had reopened.
Sandra Gomez said about 6 inches (15 centimeters) of water got inside her home and left mud throughout. She said she was luckier than other people she knows whose homes were under 5 or 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) of water.
“Well, really it’s very, very emotional,” she said. “Material things I can replace. It may take a while, but I can replace those but I cannot replace my family. So, my family’s safe and that’s all that really matters.”
One person died while driving on a flooded road, swept away near Uvalde, authorities said.
Another victim, 65-year-old John Mark Steward of Kerrville, died after his mobile home was swept into Goat Creek on the Guadalupe River, his wife said. The same river was wrecked by flash floods last year when two dozen children and counselors died at Camp Mystic. Authorities on Thursday said summer campers were safe.
In Ozona, the seat of Crockett County, authorities used seven rescue boat teams to get people out of the hardest-hit areas. They were taken to the local civic center for shelter.
Eddie Martin, the county's emergency management director, said the area received 6 inches of rain after midnight, on top of nearly 10 inches of rain before that.
“We have more and more accidents on the interstate,” he said. “We have more and more water pouring into the neighborhoods where we’ve been pulling people out of.”
Stengle reported from Dallas and Hanna, from Topeka, Kansas. Also contributing reporting were Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Michael Phillis in Washington, and Anna Wilder in Austin, Texas.
A partially-collapsed bridge crossing Goat Creek is damaged following floods near the Guadalupe River on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Bob Bettes assesses damage to his belongings after flooding reached the Buckhorn Lake Resort RV Park along West Goat Creek near the Guadalupe River on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Ryder Wade is comforted by his mother Crystal Wade as they assess flood debris and damage scattered across the Buckhorn Lake Resort RV Park following floods along West Goat Creek near the Guadalupe River on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
A police officer walks along the Guadalupe River after a series of storms on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Crews clean up flood debris along the Guadalupe River on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Comfort, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
A police officer walks along the Guadalupe River after a series of storms on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Guadalupe River floods a crossing after a series of storms on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A property's gate featuring cattle is partially submerged with flood waters along State Highway 27 in Comfort, Texas, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
A helicopter flies over the Guadalupe River as floods pass through the area on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Flooding blocks off G Street along the Guadalupe River on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
