A vaccine arms race is brewing before the NFL season starts in September – but several star players are reluctant to play ball
The tenor and tone of the NFL’s approach to the pandemic has shifted as the league moves into its second season in a Covid world. Last year it was all kumbaya, rah-rah, football-will-guide-us-through-the-darkness type of rhetoric. There was a community aspect to the league’s attitude. Everybody worked to ensure that the season could go ahead and that the nation’s top entertainment vehicle did not default on any of its multibillion dollar contracts.
The league gave concessions to teams and the players. Safeguards were built in to try to protect the integrity of the competition. Players were not held personally responsible for testing positive or coming into contact with Covid. It was treated as a team-wide issue, a societal issue, not the fault of any single individual.
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Kirk Cousins, who isn’t vaccinated, says he’ll continue to follow all protocols, the team is getting a bigger QB room so he won’t be a close contact & he might even put plexiglass around where he is in the facility. Says key is to not be a close contact. pic.twitter.com/4PwJaVuJHa
