Jamal Adams is demanding a trade… for opposing players’ jerseys.
On Thursday, the NFL announced that players and teams will be forbidden from postgame interactions within six feet of each other, meaning jersey exchanges will be prohibited during the season, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
While the NFL is attempting to change the landscape of the game to encourage social distancing measures, this effort was met with laughs from Adams.
“Stand 6 feet away bro, I’ma toss my jersey to [you]… LOL Cmon man,” Adams said in a statement that was posted on Bleacher Report’s Gridiron Instagram page.
Adams isn’t the only player who finds irony in playing 60 minutes of a contact sport and then being required to socially distance after the game’s completion. Other NFL players such as D.J. Moore, Golden Tate and Stefon Diggs commented on the new jersey swap rule.
What is stopping Jersey swap going to do? We already played in a whole game!! pic.twitter.com/S5XgYhs89Y
— DJ Mooređź’« (@idjmoore) July 9, 2020
Grab, PI, scratch, tackle, sweat, bleed, breathe heavily during the game but soon as the game ends we need y’all to not jersey swap to practice social distancing?? Mkkkkk right…… https://t.co/SMzuik5ETz
— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) July 9, 2020
Not trying to be funny or anything but this gotta be a joke
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) July 9, 2020
San Francisco 49ers All-Pro CB Richard Sherman, who also serves as the NFLPA’s vice president, acknowledged the irony on Twitter.
“This is a perfect example of NFL thinking in a nutshell,” Sherman wrote. “Players can go engage in a full contact game and do it safely. However, it is deemed unsafe for them to exchange jerseys after said game.”
Adams hasn’t been afraid to voice his displeasure this offseason, whether it’s had to do with his contract extension or the NFL’s original inadequate response to racial tensions and social justice measures. Now, the league’s decision to ban a popular postgame activity is another notch on the belt for the Jets’ All-Pro safety. Players like Adams don’t have a problem with the banning of the ritual itself, but more with the hypocrisy of the decision.