The New England Patriots head coach was so furious with the refs, that he pretty much accepted a future fine from the NFL.
On Monday, the NFL held a mandatory conference call with all teams to enforce the new, stricter COVID-19 protocols. Hours after the call, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick walked along the sidelines not with one mask, but two, to ensure that he doesn’t have any flubs a la Jon Gruden. The two masks didn’t do much good.
In the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs, Patriots defensive end Chase Winovich forced a fumble on quarterback Patrick Mahomes, which was recovered by linebacker Shilique Calhoun in Chiefs territory. However, the turnover wasn’t made official, as the referees ruled that Mahomes was down and would instead be recorded as a sack. Belichick was so furious that the play was called dead, that he accepted his future fine from the league and pulled down both masks to scream at the on-field officials!
Belichick’s wallet is about to become lighter
Normally, we wouldn’t blame Belichick for yelling at the referees for a bad call. The Patriots were robbed of points before halftime! But considering we’re in the middle of a global pandemic, keep the mask on. You can still yell at the referees by doing so.
The Patriots know all too well just how much things can change due to COVID-19. On Saturday, quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for the coronavirus, causing the league to make New England and Kansas City undergo extensive testing to ensure there’s no spread. With Newton and Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu being the only players to test positive, the NFL officially postponed the game from Sunday afternoon to Monday evening.
If you want to look at a team that’s learning the hard way about the improper use of face masks, look no further than the Las Vegas Raiders. Jon Gruden was fined $100,000 for not wearing his face covering in Las Vegas’ Week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints. On Sunday morning, reports indicated that the team was very likely to lose an NFL Draft selection based off their various COVID-19 infractions. Later that day, Gruden was seen without his mask over his mouth and nose during Las Vegas’ game against the Buffalo Bills.
With the league looking to lay down the hammer against violators of their health guidelines, Belichick can expect his wallet to be lighter than normal after this incident.