Most of these encounters will generate little more than a hello, because the aforementioned 10 reporters, and a like number from the league’s official media partners at ESPN and Turner, were required to sign unprecedented waivers pledging that we would not approach any team personnel when we saw them outside of official access periods for the news media. The rules were conceived by the league for safety reasons. To minimize the risk of a coronavirus outbreak, it wants no one getting close to the principals who does not need to be close.