Kayshon Boutte is glad ‘stupid decision’ didn’t ruin Patriots career

FOXBOROUGH — Now that the state of Louisiana has dropped underage gambling and computer fraud charges against Kayshon Boutte, the Patriots receiver breathed a sigh of relief.

Boutte was arrested in January in Baton Rouge for allegedly placing more than 8,900 bets before his 21st birthday, the legal betting age, when he played at LSU.

Boutte first responded to these allegations after the fourth day of the Patriots’ training camp. He took responsibility for his actions and eventually blamed the youth.

“I’ll just say it was a stupid decision when I was young,” Boutte said after Sunday’s training. “It’s a process I had to go through. Unfortunately it happened. But it’s life. Now it’s behind us. And we’re focused on football.”

It’s possible the league will step in, but so far Boutte hasn’t heard from the NFL about a suspension or other sanctions.

“It’s just football here,” he said. “It feels good not to think about what’s going to happen every day. Just come out and play freely.”

When asked if he knew why the charges had been dropped, Boutte replied: “I’d rather not talk about it.”

The NFL allows players to bet on other sports. Would Boutte, now 22, be tempted to do so?

The receiver responded to the question that he was done betting.

“I just feel like I need to stay away from it,” he said. “It’s not like I’m really addicted or anything, but it’s just something I need to let go of.

“I wouldn’t try it again, knowing that something worse could come out of it. You learn from life. Like Coach (Mayo) says, you don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”

Boutte, who is vying for one of the last spots on the receiver roster, said having Mayo on his team was an advantage.

“I just want to say it’s good to have a coach who knows how you feel about a certain situation and just lets you know that everything is okay,” Boutte said.