The National Football League is busy preparing for the start of the 2020 NFL season despite the increasing number of COVID-19 cases across the country.
With training camps set to kick off at the end of the month, the league has now issued some initial game-day protocols to ensure the safety of players, coaching staff and fans – should they actually be allowed into stadiums.
“NFL teams will be forbidden from postgame interactions within 6 feet of each other and jersey exchanges between players will be prohibited during the 2020 season, sources say,” NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweeted on Thursday. “Another way the NFL will look different in the COVID-19 world.”
The ban on postgame jersey exchanges was included in NFL-NFLPA game-day protocols that clubs received last night. Other notable changes for 2020:
– On-field fan seating is prohibited.
– Both teams must travel to the stadium via bus.
– Media will be banned from the locker room. https://t.co/WizWrySFvU
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 9, 2020
Pelissero later included some other restrictions to be put into place on game-day, including the ban of on-field fan seating, the requirement both teams arrive at the stadium via bus and the ban of media from the locker rooms.
Clearly, more protocols need to be put into place to ensure safety for all, but these initial mandates are at least a start.
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