Roger Goodell, NFL. (Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
The latest NFL memo strongly encourages players to receive their COVID-19 vaccine.
If you thought an NFL player not getting his COVID-19 vaccination would put him at a competitive disadvantage, take one look at this league-wide memo of the protocols that will be in place for 2021 when it comes to vaccinated and unvaccinated players.
In its simplest terms, vaccinated players can essentially operate as they would have during the 2019 season. They don’t have to wear a mask, social distance or isolate themselves if they are deemed to be high risk after being exposed to the coronavirus. For those who have not gotten or who do not plan on getting the vaccine, it will be a repeat of the ’20 season all over again.
It would be a shame if COVID-19 protocols cost a contending team a shot at a Super Bowl berth.
NFL will make life a living hell for unvaccinated players under new protocols
While nobody should have a vaccine forced upon them, you can feel the resentment from players who have done their part starting to manifest towards those who will not take the coronavirus seriously. Nothing is going to fracture a locker room faster than a handful of players who have to enter antiquated COVID-19 protocols because they are not fully vaccinated. They will be judged.
In the years to come after the global pandemic, there will be case studies done on professional and collegiate teams that either met the vaccination threshold and those that did not. While it will not be a perfect correlation, it will certainly be a strong one in favor of those teams that got more of their players vaccinated than those that never exceeded the 85-percent vaccination threshold.
The NFL has laid the groundwork to essentially punish those who have not been vaccinated.