The NFL is warning teams with low vaccination rates: if a COVID-19 outbreak forces a postponement that can’t be rescheduled, you’re going to forfeit the game and pay for lost revenue.
“Every club is obligated under the Constitution and Bylaws to have its team ready to play at the scheduled time and place,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo. “A failure to do so is deemed conduct detrimental. There is no right to postpone a game.”
“We know that vaccines are safe and effective and are the best step anyone can take to be safe from the coronavirus,” the memo adds.
As Axios explains, “The NFL can’t force players to get vaccinated, so it’s doing the next best thing in an attempt to avoid outbreaks: making the lives of unvaccinated players very uncomfortable.”
Last season, the NFL went to extraordinary lengths to rework their schedule after COVID-19 outbreaks. Some games were played in the middle of the week – an extremely unusual move. But now that fans are welcomed back to stadiums, the NFL won’t be as flexible.
If a game is canceled, players won’t receive their game checks. In the highly competitive league, a forfeit has massive implications. The league also indicated that COVID-19 outbreaks might result in fines.
But the NFL says it will avoid penalizing teams with breakthrough infections among vaccinated players. “If a club cannot play due to a Covid spike in vaccinated individuals, we will attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both participating teams,” reads the memo.
“The NFL is sending a very strong signal that it’s very important to get vaccinated,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS Evening News. “If you want to play football and you want to do it in a way that you feel unrestricted and not worry about any penalties, you just get vaccinated, because they’re saying that if unvaccinated people get infected, there are going to be consequences.”
78% of NFL players have received at least one shot, although some prominent players have bristled at the jab.
“Never thought I would say this, But being put in a position to hurt my team because I don’t want to partake in the vaccine is making me question my future in the @Nfl,” Arizona Cardinals star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins wrote in a tweet he has since deleted.
Renowned quarterbacks coach Quincy Avery tweeted, “Def a bad teammate if you don’t get the vax now...”
Two coaches have already parted ways with their teams over the vaccine issue. ESPN quotes sources, “After refusing to receive a vaccine for COVID-19, Rick Dennison is out as a Minnesota Vikings assistant coach.”