Tag: COVID vaccine

Kirk Cousins failed his teammates and Vikings fans by not getting vaccinated

Get the shot.

Predictably, Kirk Cousins has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss the Minnesota Vikings’ game against the Green Bay Packers.

Cousins is among the most well-known NFL players to not get vaccinated; another of those, Carson Wentz, landed on the reserve/Covid-19 list earlier this week. There’s a possibility he’ll be able to play against the Raiders this weekend thanks to the NFL amending its rules to require asymptomatic players sit out only 5 days instead of 10.

Cousins won’t be so lucky. The Vikings, sitting at 7-8, stood a decent chance of jumping the Eagles for the No. 7 playoff spot by winning out. Now they’re left to try to win at Lambeau Field with Sean Mannion at QB.

Sean Mannion has thrown 74 passes in the NFL — and only 24 since the 2017 season.

Good luck with that.

What’s left to say about any of this, at this point? The current coronavirus vaccines don’t block all infection, and may be less adept at doing so with the omicron variant, but they help. And Cousins opted out.

Cousins has long been bad at making decisions under pressure, so it’s not hard to see how he got this one wrong.

Except for this: This wasn’t a difficult decision. There’s nothing confusing about it. Kirk Cousins didn’t need to quickly sort through information, or deal with a heavy blitz, or do anything arduous at all. He could have simply gotten a vaccine that has been administered billions of times (with hardly any major side effects) to give his body extra defense against a virus that has now killed around 5.5 million people world wide.

His justification for not doing so has been non-existent. He’s called it a private health matter and had the audacity to say that he’s thought about surrounding himself in plexiglass because he’s “going to do whatever it takes.”

Here’s the impact the vaccines have had in Minnesota:

Meanwhile his coach, Mike Zimmer, has spent much of the season being frustrated at his players who were unwilling to get vaccinated and went so far as to bring experts in to talk to the team:

Now the Vikings are on the outside of the playoffs despite showing a penchant for sticking in games and Zimmer could be on the hot seat.

But it’s not like Minnesota can start a rebuild. The Vikings are likely stuck with Cousins.

What a pointless and ridiculous mess.

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NASCAR president Steve Phelps on ‘Let’s go, Brandon,’ rotating championship race, COVID vaccines

NASCAR

Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of sexual assault.

AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR president Steve Phelps addressed several topics — including the sport’s COVID-19 vaccination rate, schedule changes and the origins of “Let’s go, Brandon” — Friday at Phoenix Raceway during his annual state of the sport press conference.

The one-mile desert track is hosting NASCAR’s championship weekend for the second consecutive year, with the Truck Series race Friday, the Xfinity Series race Saturday and culminating in the Cup Series’ finale on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC).

Here are six key takeaways from Phelps’ press conference ahead of the three championship races.

Related: NASCAR’s final 4 championship contenders explain why they’ll win it all at Phoenix

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Did Aaron Rodgers lie about getting a COVID-19 vaccine?

Aaron Rodgers may have lied about being vaccinated. This is insane.

Well, uh, this is pretty awkward.

Aaron Rodgers is reportedly out this Sunday when the Packers play the Chiefs after he tested positive for COVID-19.

That led to a whole bunch of questions about Rodgers’ status for Sunday and how we actually got here. Per the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, had he tested positive for COVID but was vaccinated, there was a legitimate shot that he might be able to play on Sunday. All he’d need to do is test negative consecutively and be asymptomatic.

But NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Rodgers as straight up out on Sunday against the Chiefs. Not questionable. Not doubtful. Just out.

This led to the questions about whether Rodgers is actually vaccinated or not, which he seemed to indicate was the case to reporters back in August.

Now, it looks like Rodgers may have been lying. Or, at the very least, misleading people with his language. None of it looks good.

It’s a lot to keep up with, I know. So here’s a quick breakdown of what Rodgers has said, where we stand today and the questions we have moving forward.

Draymond Green, LeBron James and the other NBA players are totally missing the point on the COVID vaccine

The answers to Draymond Green’s questions about the vaccine are right there.

The COVID vaccine has been the talk of the NBA for the last few days since the firestorm that was NBA media day.

The vaccine has been the story of the season so far from the players’ refusal to issue a vaccine mandate for NBAPA members to players like Andrew Wiggins, Kyrie Irving and more refusing to take it.

Players like Wiggins and Irving, who play in New York and San Francisco, won’t be able to actually play in home games for their team without taking the vaccine because of state regulations.

So, naturally, one would think the resolution to this would be for them to get the shot. It’s easy. It’s short. It’s simple. You don’t even remember it after you get it. From a sports perspective, it won’t cost their team wins and it won’t cost them any money. Most importantly, it makes things safer for the people around them.

Instead, players like Wiggins are holding on to their convictions and refuse to take it.

Many of the NBA players around the league who have actually taken the vaccine support them in their refusal. One player of note, and a teammate of Wiggins’, was Draymond Green.

Green is vaccinated. He’ll be able to play for the Warriors in their home arena this season. But he says he supports Wiggins’ decision and his skepticism.

“I think there’s something to be said for people’s concern about something that’s being pressed so hard. Like, why are you pressing this so hard? Like, so much. You’re just pressing and pressing and pressing. I think you have to honor people’s feelings and their beliefs. And I think that’s been lost when it comes to vaccinated and non-vaccinated.” 

The face of the NBA agreed with his question. LeBron James said he couldn’t have said it any better himself.

The question of “why are you pressing this so hard?” seems to be the ever-present theme for folks skeptical of the vaccine. But the answers are right there in front of them and they’re too deep into their own research to realize it.

Why is it being pressed so hard? Maybe the answer is because 700,000 people have lost their lives to COVID in this country. Maybe it’s because people who are not fully vaccinated are 57 times more likely to die from COVID-19, per new information from the White House. Maybe it’s because the vaccines actually work and are actually keeping people safe.

It’d be one thing if Irving, Wiggins and other athletes around the country were isolated and unvaccinated. But they’ll literally be around millions of people this season. They’re literally putting people’s lives in danger by not being vaccinated. That’s not hard to see.

Look, we don’t want to make it seem as if the NBA has a vaccination problem. It doesn’t. Ninety-five percent of the league is reportedly vaccinated. What the problem here, with Green’s comments and comments like them, is that they’re spreading skepticism with information that has no basis. It’s untrue.

Sure, the right for people to make personal choices is very important. But that’s not what this is. This is a matter of public health. As a matter of public health, it is imperative that everyone works together to make things as safe as possible for each other — not just ourselves. Part of that work is making sure everyone is vaccinated.

If we don’t, things will just continue to balloon. That 700,000 will grow to 1 million and it won’t stop there.

Absolutely no one wants to see that. So, please, everyone, get vaccinated.

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Bill Belichick’s trivialization of the COVID-19 vaccine while talking about Cam Newton was dangerous

Bill Belichick is dead wrong.

We all know how Bill Belichick is. He’s always cunning and coy on matters regarding his team. He’s a master of misdirection.

He rarely reveals the logic behind his decisions because it could give the opponent a slight advantage. And that exact mentality has made him into the greatest coach in NFL history.

That’s why his answer on the Patriots’ decision to cut Cam Newton was just so confusing.

Belichick was asked whether Newton’s vaccination status and being in the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol was part of the decision to let him go.

As expected, Belichick remained coy and simply said “no.” But afterward, he went on an odd spiel about the vaccine that, honestly, just didn’t make a ton of sense.

He made sure to note “a pretty high number” of folks in the NFL who had been vaccinated still contracted COVID-19 and said the vaccine doesn’t solve “every problem.”

It was truly out of nowhere.

It’s also not exactly true. The NFL had 68 players and staff test positive for COVID-19 from August 1 to 21, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. That was out of 7,190 tested individuals during that stretch which is a shade less than 1% of those tested.

The rate of positive tests among unvaccinated NFL personnel was seven times higher than that of vaccinated personnel, per Reiss. It’s also worth noting that a whopping 90% of NFL players had, at least, one dose of the vaccine on August 3.

No matter how you shake it, that’s not a”pretty high number.” Not in the least bit. Yes, people who are vaccinated can still contract COVID.  On a basic level, no vaccine is 100% preventative.

But it’s pretty evident that while it isn’t 100%, it’s pretty close. And it’s worked for the NFL so far. So this was just a strange moment from Belichick. One that didn’t really make a ton of sense or seem to have a ton of purpose here.

Only he knows what he was trying to do here. It could be him trying to deflect from Newton’s vaccination status being a factor in cutting him. This could also be something he truly believes. It could be him just trying to confuse everyone by spreading misinformation.

We don’t know. We can’t tell. Either way, he was dead wrong.

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Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie finally got a COVID vaccination after the NFL fined him for a mask violation

Isaiah McKenzie did the right thing.

The NFL fined Bills wideout Isaiah McKenzie $14,650 earlier this week for a mask violation during training camp.

McKenzie refused to wear his mask, despite being unvaccinated, after he was warned about the consequences of not wearing it and going through training that showed him exactly when he was supposed to be wearing it.

He posted his fine letter to Twitter saying telling the NFL “you win.” At the time, it didn’t seem like he was taking things seriously.

But on Saturday, it was pretty obvious that he did. As it turns out, no one likes being fined! And so, to avoid another fine, McKenzie actually went and got vaccinated.

He posted a picture of his vaccination card on Instagram just days after receiving his fine.

This is great. He’s absolutely right — it’s for the greater good. And now he doesn’t have to deal with fines anymore.

But most importantly, he’ll be safe. And that’s what matters most. Everyone wins.

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The NBA’s reported new vaccine mandate is a good first step, but it needs players to buy in

The NBA’s mandate will only go so far without the players.

The NBA is, once again, doing all it can to make sure it gets out ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic next season.

We saw the league institute stringent policies for players at the NBA’s Summer League this offseason when it came to the vaccine.

Players who went to Las Vegas and competed without one were subjected to stringent testing rules and protocols to ensure their safety and the safety of others. If they were vaccinated, however, they could move freely throughout Las Vegas.

Now, the NBA is taking things a step further beyond that with all employees, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

All NBA personnel who have roles revolving around interactions with players and referees are required to be fully vaccinated. That includes coaches, medical staff, front office employees and even arena employees.

This is a good thing. It’s best to be vaccinated to remain safe, first and foremost. But this also keeps the possibility of passing the virus on to players at a minimum, which also means there could be a reduction in instances where games are forfeited.

There is an obvious caveat here, however.

Anyone reading that tweet probably immediately notices that there is one key party missing here: The players. They’re not included in this mandate, nor are the referees.

There’s a reason for that. Both players and referees are represented by a union. And, without union approval, the league does not have the authority to mandate the vaccine for them.

So that’s potentially a huge roadblock here. The NBA could push to get every player vaccinated, but it can’t require it right now without player buy-in.

And, at this point, it seems unlikely that the league will get it. Big names in the NBA like LeBron James and former NBAPA president Chris Paul were hesitant to discuss the vaccine and wouldn’t say whether they think players should take it or not.

While it’s not exactly their responsibility to do so, what they say matters. And what James and Paul say does tend to reflect the feelings of folks from the NBA community at large. With that being the case, it feels unlikely that any vaccine mandate of any sort could ever be decided on.

So, yes, the league’s current mandate is good. And it’s awesome to see it taking these steps. But it’ll only go so far if the players aren’t on board.

And that’s where the NBA should set its sights next.

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Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie completely brushing off a $14k fine for not wearing a mask is a massive problem for the NFL

Some players are just not taking this seriously, and it’s a shame

The NFL’s teams have gotten progressively better and better about getting their players vaccinated.

There are 23 teams in the league with, at least, a 90 percent vaccination rate right now, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala, and 92.7 percent of players in the league have received at least one shot.

There are just four more teams with a vaccination rate of 89 percent or lower. Now, it’s just a matter of getting those teams on board.

But if the Buffalo Bills are going to be any indication of how that process is going to go, it’s going to be a real struggle. That’s pretty clear at this point.

The Bills’ vaccination rate is hovering around 80 percent, per The Athletic. And they just sent Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis, Vernon Butler and Star Lotulelei home and labeled them as high risk in the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols after they came in contact with a vaccinated staff member who contracted COVID. The players were all unvaccinated.

On top of that, wideout Isaiah McKenzie was just fined $14,650 for not wearing a mask after repeatedly refusing to wear a mask, despite protocols requiring him to do so.

What’s worse? He didn’t seem to take it seriously at all. He posted the fine letter to Twitter saying “They got me! NFL you win!”

And then Cole Beasley followed up with this tweet in his continued efforts to delegitimize the NFL’s COVID-19 policies.

This is the problem the NFL is facing in a nutshell. Yes, it’s made incredible progress in getting folks vaccinated so far. But the ones who refuse? It seems to be leaning in.

Beasley is dismissing the NFL’s policy every chance he gets. McKenzie is totally dismissing a $14k fine as if it’s Monopoly money. They just don’t really seem to be concerned about the policy or, more importantly, the well-being of others at all.

Maybe there’s room for heftier fines and suspensions to get them to care, but they’re already hefty as is.

And it’s hard to think about what more the NFL can do to coerce them to convince them to just take the shot. The league’s policies are already stringent and could even lead to the forfeiture of games if things go haywire.

It looks like it’s just a matter of hoping players choose to think about doing a relatively simple thing for others instead of themselves, at this point.

And, well, good luck with that.

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