Over 100 NFL players are now on the reserve COVID list. This is a record number, in a three day period, since the pandemic began. Many of those players are fully vaccinated. According to the league, two-thirds of them are asymptomatic and the rest have very mild symptoms.
Players also lied about their vaccination status, putting team mates at risk. Some idiot quarterback takes his medical advice from Joe Rogan, a podcaster rather than doctors or scientists. The NFL temporarily suspended Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown and two other players for lying about their Covid-19 vaccination status. They will miss three games, which is a slap on the wrist that will be more of a short vacation for these highly paid players. Brown males $6.25 million dollars a season.
Adjustments are being considered for the COVID player protocols. The first three months of the season had few COVID-19 cases. The league profited from full stadiums, and fewer masks. Fans and athletes seemed to forget there ever was a pandemic.
There remain just four games in the regular season before the playoffs begin. At this rate there will be no players on the field to play them. Commissioner Roger Goodell said there had been no discussion about postponing any games. Sills said that for the first time this season, the virus has begun spreading within team facilities. Immunity among vaccinated players and coaches is waning.
League officials felt some urgency to take action quickly as the reserve COVID-19 list ballooned. The league is encouraging booster shots. Since some players are afraid of needles that is a weak option for weak willed players. The league is mandating boosters for coaches and staff. To keep bodies on the field, they want fully vaccinated players who have tested positive to return to team activities with just one negative test. Currently, a vaccinated player needs two negative tests 24 hours apart in order to return before the end of the normal 10-day quarantine period.
Masking, social distancing and virtual meetings are returning to team facilities. I’m amazed these basic protocols were ever dropped. Some members and officials from the players union are advocating for a return to daily testing for all players, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated. Right now, only unvaccinated players (the ones they know about) are tested every day. Vaccinated players are tested once a week. More testing for everyone would almost certainly reveal more asymptomatic cases. League officials are resistant to the idea of daily testing. Because, hell that is a cost. The NFL is, for the second year in a row, in a race with the virus to the end of the season.