Tag: policy

Report: Chiefs ask NFL to launch inquiry into NFLPA over COVID-19 policy violation

A new report says the Chiefs have asked the NFL to launch an investigation into the NFLPA.

The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t happy with the NFLPA right now.

According to a new report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Chiefs officials have asked the NFL to launch an investigation into the NFLPA over a potential COVID-19 protocol violation. The report claims that in late October an NFLPA representative conducted an in-person meeting with all K.C. players. The NFLPA representative in question was allegedly unmasked and intermingling with players while they were unmasked.

This is a problem because NFLPA representatives aren’t tested as frequently and routinely travel to numerous different NFL clubs during the course of the season. The Chiefs are claiming that this caused potential unnecessary exposure to COVID-19 for players and staff.

Kansas City recently had head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder test positive for COVID-19. On Tuesday, the team placed practice squad DT Braxton Hoyett on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Today, the team placed second-year WR Mecole Hardman on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The frustration on the part of the Chiefs, combined with the two recent transactions is quite alarming. Hopefully this is not the beginning of an outbreak.

Schefter added that the NFLPA was made aware of the situation and took action, but it’s clear that the Chiefs don’t believe that action was sufficient. It’s unclear what would come of an official investigation, but expect the NFL to take the allegations seriously with the safety of players and staff in mind.

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Saints, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell reach agreement to allow fans at Superdome

The New Orleans Saints reached a compromise with Mayor LaToya Cantrell to begin readmitting fans to the Superdome amid the COVID-19 pandemic

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After several days of negotiations and a maneuver exploring a temporary move to LSU’s Tiger Stadium, the New Orleans Saints reached an agreement with Mayor LaToya Cantrell to roll out a phased spectator policy for the remaining Saints home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome this year.

Cantrell’s office had been reluctant to give the Saints a green light to admit large crowds of fans to the Superdome amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but now they’ll get an opportunity to attempt doing that safely.

For starters, just 3,000 Saints season-ticket holders will be eligible for Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers. if all goes well, the plan is for that to scale up over the rest of the season. Here’s how the Saints outlined things in a statement:

  • Oct. 25 vs. Carolina Panthers: 3,000 fans
  • Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco 49ers: 6,000
  • Nov. 22 vs. Atlanta Falcons: 6,000
  • Dec. 20 vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 15,000
  • Dec. 25 vs. Minnesota Vikings: 15,000

Described as a “phased and deliberate pilot approach” in a statement from the team, this compromise will at least allow some members of the Who Dat Nation to make their voices heard inside the Superdome. It’s hardly the same as the 70,000-strong crowd typically packing the stands, but it’s a step up from the 750 or so family members of players, coaches, and staffers that previously gathered in New Orleans.

So: if the Saints can only bring in the loudest 3,000 Saints fans possible, who would you pick?

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Saints won’t be allowed to host fans for Week 5 vs. Chargers

The New Orleans Saints did not receive permission from Mayor LaToya Cantrell to host fans this week, due to COVID-19 and Hurricane Delta.

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When the New Orleans Saints kick off against the Los Angeles Chargers to cap Week 5 of the NFL regular season on “Monday Night Football,” they won’t be doing so in front of a roaring crowd. Or much of a crowd at all.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell denied the Saints’ request to open the doors of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to fans and admit up to 25% of its maximum occupancy (about 18,000 people), Nola.com’s Amie Just reported Wednesday.

The Saints explained to season ticket holders in an email that they are preparing to welcome fans at their next home game: Week 7’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 25. But the exact number of spectators allowed is yet to be determined.

And it’s not even clear yet where the Saints will play the Chargers on Oct. 13. With Hurricane Delta bearing down on the Louisiana coast, the Saints have been working with the NFL on “a last resort contingency” to relocate to Indianapolis for a few days, and kick off at the Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium. The Saints have gone so far as to reserve a 150-strong block of hotel rooms and charter a flight should it come to that.

If they do remain in New Orleans, though, about 750 family members of players, coaches, and staffers are expected to take their seats in the Superdome just as they did for Week 3’s game with the Green Bay Packers. These trial runs have helped the Saints refine their game-day protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic and informed the plans they’ve submitted to state and local officials in requests to host larger crowds.

But if the Saints do hit the road again soon, they’ll likely play in another quiet venue like they’ve seen in Weeks 1, 2, and 4. If that’s the case, it will mean that the Saints enter their Week 6 bye having played no games in front of even partially-filled stadiums. Such is professional sports during a public health crisis.

Stay tuned, and check back often for updates.

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Roger Goodell, Saints seeking permission to host fans for Week 5 Chargers game

The New Orleans Saints and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell are seeking to host more than 17,000 fans at the Superdome against the Chargers.

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The New Orleans Saints sent a letter to season-ticket holders on Friday informing them of potential changes for Week 5’s game on “Monday Night Football” with the Los Angeles Chargers. With the city moving into Phase 3 of its COVID-19 reopening plan, the Saints filed a formal request with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell to host fans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Oct. 12.

Even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell got involved, emailing Cantrell’s office. His message was referenced in the Saints’ letter, which said:

Roger Goodell emailed the mayor requesting that she allow the fans to attend Saints games, the NFL will have half the teams hosting fans and right now, New Orleans has one of the lowest positivity rates of any NFL city. Goodell was positive to the mayor that we could pull this off safely.

Goodell’s relationship with Saints fans is infamously frosty; not just for his weak response to the 2018 NFC championship game no-call, but for lingering resentment over the 2012 Bountygate debacle. Cantrell made light of his role here, joking in a press conference that she was, “Still a little salty about the flag on the play. I wish he would have said how great he loved the Saints two years ago.”

But back to the Saints’ proposal: they expressed confidence after testing their COVID-19 health and safety procedures during Week 3’s prime-time game with the Green Bay Packers, when 750 family members of Saints players, coaches, and staffers were hosted at the Superdome. Now they want to reach as high as 25% of the Superdome’s maximum occupancy, or about 17,500 fans.

Other NFL venues are beginning to welcome crowds of even larger sizes. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has boasted that 25,000 fans will crowd AT&T Stadium at their next home game. While it’s still a far cry from the usually-packed arenas you’ll see around the league, it is a step towards that direction.

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Saints not cleared to host fans for Sept. 27 game vs. Packers

The New Orleans Saints will not be allowed to host fans for their Green Bay Packers game due to the city’s COVID-19 recovery policy.

The New Orleans Saints might go into their Week 6 bye having played no games in front of a live audience. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Friday that the Saints will not be granted permission by the city government to host fans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for their Sept. 27 game with the Green Bay Packers, ensuring that each of the first four Saints games of 2020 will be played without fans in attendance.

While the Saints already received permission from the Louisiana state government to play games with fans in the Superdome, the city of New Orleans will remain in Phase 2 of its COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan, which prohibits such gatherings.

It leaves the Saints with just one game before their bye week to welcome fans back to the Superdome: an Oct. 12 kickoff with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. If New Orleans has progressed into Phase 3 by then, fans could be allowed into the Superdome in a limited capacity, but it’s too soon to say at this time.

We’ve known for quite some time that fans would not be able to attend the season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday, and the rest of their pre-bye week games (road contests with the Las Vegas Raiders and Detroit Lions) have also been steadily chipped away as other teams around the league implement fan attendance policies.

That’s hardly the farewell tour for Drew Brees that had been envisioned, should this be his last year in the NFL. But the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented, and until the public health crisis is better contained, more changes should be expected.

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3 of the Saints’ first 4 games to be played without fans in attendance

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saints will play games without fans in attendance during matchups with the Buccaneers, Raiders, and Lions.

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The Detroit Lions became the latest NFL team to announce that fans will not be allowed at their early-season home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the decision to play at an empty Ford Field in games against the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints.

This means that the Saints will kick off in quiet venues for three of their first four games: their Sept. 13 season opener with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a Sept. 21 highlight on Monday Night Football with the Las Vegas Raiders, and this Oct. 4 road game at Detroit. Sandwiched in-between is a Saints home game in Week 3 on Sunday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers.

While the Saints already made the decision to play their first home game without fans, they’re holding out hope that they will be allowed to host limited attendance on Sept. 27. It depends on whether New Orleans and the state of Louisiana are able to move into Phase 3 of their COVID-19 reopening plan, but a recent surge in positive test cases might prevent that.

It’s such a shame that live audiences won’t be able to see the start of what may be a historic Saints season. There’s a real possibility that 2020 will be the end of the road for Drew Brees, who seriously considered retirement during the offseason and already has a broadcasting gig with NBC Sports waiting on him.

The Saints were set to help open up two of the NFL’s newest arenas with a Week 1 preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium and their regular season matchup at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, but now only one of those games will have been played at all, and without the packed crowd the NFL expected. Hopefully the COVID-19 public health crisis will be better managed as the year continues, allowing at least some Saints fans to see their team play games in person.

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