Browns legend and former radio voice Bernie Kosar offered his first public comments addressing his ouster from the team for violating the NFL’s gambling policy prior to Sunday’s game against the Steelers.
Speaking on Monday’s episode of The Bernie Kosar Show With Hanford Dixon, Kosar, who placed a $19,000 bet on Cleveland to beat Pittsburgh, apologized to the organization for his decision. The former quarterback also re-iterated that he always intended to donate the winnings to charity, which he also stated when announcing the bet on Sunday.
“I figured this was a great way to raise money for foundations and for charities and stuff,” Kosar said. “So, to do a promotional bet like that to try to raise money was just in an effort to give back money. … I’m not an employee of the Browns but as an independent contractor, I’m sorry I had to put them in this position. I didn’t want to put them in this position, but because I am not an employee, I didn’t think that was going to be an issue because it was for charity.”
The Browns’ decision to fire Kosar came prior to the club’s season-ending 28-14 loss to the Steelers. Kosar did not specify the reasoning for his firing when announcing the news on Twitter, saying he was “shocked and disappointed” after Cleveland informed him that his “services are no longer desired or needed.”
A team spokesperson later issued a statement explaining the move. Per NFL policy, all team personnel are prohibited from placing any bets on games.
“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,” the statement read, per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. “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.”
Kosar, the Browns’ QB from 1985 to ’93, ranks third in franchise history with 21,904 passing yards and earned two Pro Bowl nods during his time with the team.
