Browns fire Bernie Kosar from radio broadcast after he bet on team

The Browns say they had no other choice but to relieve him of his duties.

“We understand what Bernie means to this community and our history,” the team said in a statement Sunday night, released after the Browns lost, 28-14, to finish 7-10. “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 will also no longer be a regular guest on the team’s in-house radio program.

Earlier, the 59-year-old Kosar had expressed disappointment with the decision with a posting on Twitter.

“Steelers GameDay yet once again I was informed by the Browns that my services are no longer desired or needed.” Kosar wrote. “I am shocked & disappointed. Brown & Orange is my life … Go #Browns.”

Kosar remains one of the franchise’s most popular players. An Ohio Native, he left the University of Miami early so he could be picked first by the Browns in the 1985 NFL Supplemental Draft.

Kosar spent nine years with Cleveland, leading the Browns to three AFC Championship Game appearances. He was cut by then-coach Bill Belichick in 1993 and went on to win a Super Bowl as a backup with Dallas.

He has remained active in the community and worked with the Browns in various capacities since his retirement in 1996. Kosar passed for 23,301 yards and threw 124 touchdown passes from 1985-96.

Last month, the NFL suspended Jets wide receiver coach Miles Austin indefinitely for violating the league’s gambling policy by “wagering from a legal mobile account on table games and non-NFL professional sports,” according to a statement by his lawyer. The NFL Network reported the suspension is for a minimum of one year.

Jacksonville receiver Calvin Ridley received a similar suspension in March after, the league said, he bet on NFL games during late November 2021 when he was on the non-football illness list with Atlanta.

In-person sports betting is expected to begin in Massachusetts at the state’s three casinos — Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park, and MGM Springfield — on Jan. 31.