The NFL is Still a Hotbed of Anti-Vaxxers

Heading into the NFL's 2021 season, the league is still seeing only 93% of its players vaccinated against the coronavirus despite heavy pressure from the league and fans, significant risks of catching the disease in a close-contact sport, and the real possibility of losing pay (and games) if an outbreak occurs.

Defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Bucs announced that their roster is 100 percent fully vaccinated, joining the Atlanta Falcons as the second fully vaccinated team in the league.  The Indianapolis Colts and the Minnesota Vikings are among the lowest, with vaccination rates in the low 70's.

Players who remain unvaccinated are not allowed to eat meals with the team, leave their hotels on  away games, or use saunas or steam facilities. They will also have to be tested for Covid-19 daily, follow social distancing rules, and wear masks, in addition to other guidelines.  Unvaccinated players will also be forbidden from marketing opportunities, the freedom to go to nightclubs and house parties, and even the option to fly on their team's charter plane with vaccinated teammates.

The league announced that NFL teams with a COVID outbreak will be forced to forfeit their games if they cannot be rescheduled within the current 18-week schedule, according to a memo from commissioner Roger Goodell. The forfeiting team will be penalized with a loss that will ultimately affect playoff seedings.

The Buffalo Bills' Cole Beasley is the leading moron when it comes to COVID in the NFL.  The wide receiver has said that he won’t be getting vaccinated, going against the league’s pandemic protocols.  Beasley wrote in a “Public Service Announcement” that he’s “not vaccinated” but that he “will be outside doing what I do. I’ll be out in the public. If [you’re] scared of me then steer clear, or get vaccinated. Point. Blank. Period.  I may die of COVID, but I’d rather die actually living.  I have family members whose days are numbered."  Beasley later told the NFL that he doesn't play for the money anymore, going on to say, "fine me if you want.”  He added: “I’ll play for free this year to live life how I’ve lived it from day one. If I’m forced into retirement, so be it.”

Beasley continued to bicker with his teammates publicly about his stance. One moment he’s simply a sceptic, not an anti-vaxxer; the next he’s releasing a tirade again Dr. Fauci and dissing people for being "sheeples."  Beasley’s stance has been so vociferous and public in the face of the league’s protocols that it has led executives to wonder whether he’s intentionally trying to get himself cut by the Bills.

Kirk Cousins is also one of the NFL's COVID nitwits-- refusing to get the vaccine, as well as refusing to talk about it.  Kirk himself made it clear last year that he doesn’t believe in masks, and he uttered the phrase, “If I die, I die” regarding the possibility of catching the disease.  Vikings Coach Mike Zimmer didn't hold back, saying ""We could put this thing to bed if we'd all do this, but it is what it is."

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill admitted that he wouldn't have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine if not for the NFL's protocols.  "I wouldn't have gotten the vaccine without the protocols that they are enforcing on us. I think it's a personal decision for each of us. They are trying to force our hands and ultimately have forced a lot of hands by the protocols. It is what it is."

During the preseason, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said that he was still unsure about getting vaccinated, despite getting COVID twice. Sheesh!  Cardinals wideout Deandre Hopkins said in a now-deleted tweet that being put in a position to hurt his team because he didn't want to get the vaccine made him question his future in the NFL, while Tampa Bay running back Leonard Fournette simply stated he wouldn't get the vaccine. 

Panthers linebacker Denzel Perryman thinks everyone should be wearing a mask until the coronavirus pandemic subsides. But when it comes to getting the vaccination shot, he said says no way: “Nothing against it. I mean, I know people that got the vaccination and still caught COVID, so to me it’s like, ‘what’s the point?’”  In June, Carolina quarterback Sam Darnold admitted that he hadn’t been vaccinated yet. “I still have to think about all those certain things that go into it,” was his defense.

Before reporting to camp, Detroit Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said, "I did not get vaccinated and I’m not going to.  I’m just not going to speak to the reasons why.  I just don’t feel like it’s the best thing for me so I’m not going to do it."

(Former) New England quarterback Cam Newton, who also refused to get vaccinated, was cut by the team at the end of preseason.  Newton was forced to be away from the team for five days due to a misunderstanding about the league’s COVID protocols. As a result, he missed three practices, including a critical joint session against the New York Giants.   Patriots head coach Bill Belichick once famously said “dependability is more important than ability.”

Washington Coach RonRivera, who is immuno-compromised after surviving cancer last year, publicly begged his players to get the vaccine. The response was a thudding silence-- his team entered August with the lowest vaccination rate in the league. “I haven’t caught Covid yet,” the Washington defensive end Montez Sweat said. “So I don’t see me treating Covid until I actually get Covid.”  What a bunch of selfish jerks-- you won't even get vaccinated to protect your coach, who compromised his treatment to stay with the team during the season?

Heading into opening weekend, NBA hall-of-famer Charles Barkley slammed NFL players who have refused to get vaccinated-- labelling them “selfish,” and saying they were among the luckiest people during the pandemic because they’ve “gotten every single check” and remained well-paid even as they played to empty stadiums — while others lost their jobs or died from the disease.

“For us to be selfish and not trying to help the world get back where we can take these stupid masks off and go out to dinner in a full restaurant, I just think it’s selfish,” said Barkley, who is fully vaccinated.  “I’ve heard these idiots talk about chips in it, and I heard people talking about [the government] wants to follow us around,” the basketball Hall of Famer added of conspiracy theories surrounding the shots. “They can follow us around anyway. Everybody got a cellphone. And first of all, what are you doing that you’re worried about people following you?”

“There’s shit you can’t do at work and there’s shit that have to do at work,” he added. “So every workplace has rules, and I think one of the rules [should be] that guys have to be vaccinated.”