Tag: vaccination

Bucs’ Antonio Brown, Mike Edwards suspended, won’t face Saints in Week 15

Bucs’ Antonio Brown, Mike Edwards suspended, won’t face Saints in Week 15

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Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of someone’s actions catching up to them: the NFL announced Thursday that Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown was suspended for the next three games after violating NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols, following an earlier report from the Tampa Bay Times in which Brown was accused of falsifying his vaccination status in official documents submitted to the league office.

Brown and his Buccaneers teammate Mike Edwards were both suspended following an investigation; another player, John Franklin III, joined Tampa Bay for training camp but was released and remains a free agent. He’ll have to serve his own three-game suspension if signed by a new team.

This means neither Brown nor Edwards will be available when their team hosts the New Orleans Saints in Week 15. And that’s significant for a Buccaneers team hoping to go win another Super Bowl title, even if Brown hadn’t played well against the Saints (totaling 4 catches for 41 yards on 8 targets in two games last year). Edwards is more of a part-time player, though he did bag one of his six career interceptions off of Drew Brees in last season’s playoff game.

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Pregnant reporter says PGA Tour fired her after she failed to get ‘religious exemption’ on COVID protocols

Gregson said she tried to get a religious exemption from the PGA Tour but was not granted one.

Reporter, producer and host Teryn Gregson said in a social media post Monday that the PGA Tour fired her for refusing to follow protocols set by the organization to deal with COVID-19.

Gregson, who is 22 weeks pregnant with her second child, worked for the PGA Tour for 5½ years. She was a full-time employee and said she tried to get a religious exemption from returning to the PGA Tour offices, but was not granted one.

She was notified of her dismissal last Friday.

“I was in need of religious exemptions from their vaccine protocols of masking and testing,” Gregson said in her post. “They would not accommodate me in such a way that I did not have to violate my religious beliefs.

“I was hoping we could come together on this.”

Reached by Golfweek, the PGA Tour responded to a series of questions.

“The PGA Tour does not have a vaccine mandate for its employees,” the Tour said in a statement. “In September and based upon guidance from medical and legal advisors, the PGA Tour established additional health and safety protocols for those who choose to remain unvaccinated. There have been numerous communications to employees about these specific health and safety protocols.

“Regarding religious exemptions, there is no need for a religious exemption from a vaccine requirement because – again – we do not have a vaccine requirement at the PGA Tour. We do, however, have a process for reviewing requests for medical or religious accommodations (from both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees) for Tour health and safety protocols. All are reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether a request qualifies and what accommodations can be made.”

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Gregson also appeared Monday on the conservative Steve Deace Show on BlazeTV and said that she had COVID this past summer. She is not vaccinated.

Gregson had been working from a studio in her home since the global pandemic began March 2020. However, the PGA Tour established rules for its employees to return to work at the PGA Tour’s offices in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., beginning November 1. The original date to resume in-office work was June 1, but a highly transmissible Delta variant led to a spike in new cases and hospitalizations in Northeast Florida. This led the PGA Tour, with guidance from local and state officials as well as the Tour’s medical advisor, Dr. Tom Hospel, to move the mandatory date to return to the office to September 1 and then November 1.

Fully vaccinated employees are not required to wear masks within the building. For unvaccinated employees, masks are required to be worn “at all times, including in conference rooms, fitness center, simulator and when walking through hallways. Masks can be removed while sitting at a workstation if social distancing can be achieved or when eating/drinking. In addition to masking requirements, all unvaccinated employees will undergo weekly COVID-19 screening tests.”

“They told me that (my request) was an undue hardship,” Gregson said on the Deace Show. “And that I had to come back in the office to be able to collaborate with my team.”

The PGA Tour said nearly 94 percent of its employees are fully vaccinated.

“In the months leading up to our eventual return, we rolled out a series of employee communications via emails, newsletters, videos and moderated Q&A sessions to answer questions related to COVID, vaccinations, health and safety protocols and general return-to-office onboarding,” the statement continued.

“When mandatory in-office work for Northeast Florida employees at our new Global Headquarters and PGA Tour Entertainment building commenced on November 1, the vaccination rate of employees was at 90 percent. Presently, all Tour employees based in Northeast Florida are required to return to the office and follow health and safety protocols.”

Multiple efforts by Golfweek to reach Gregson went unanswered.

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Why unvaccinated Packers QB Aaron Rodgers will start vs. Chiefs and maybe more

The Packers quarterback tested positive for COVID-19 and must miss 10 days, meaning he can’t play against the Chiefs. Here’s why.

Green Bay packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Why doesn’t Rodgers have the opportunity to return to the team if he’s asymptomatic and has two negative tests in 24 hours? The Packers quarterback is unvaccinated, per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Rodgers previously said he was “immunized” in August, and many took his comment to mean he was vaccinated, but immunized doesn’t necessarily mean vaccinated, at least in Rodgers’ mind.

This same situation played out for the Packers during the lead up to last week’s win over the Cardinals. Davante Adams, who is vaccinated, tested positive on Monday but could have returned to the team with two negative tests spaced 24 hours apart. Allen Lazard, who isn’t vaccinated, was deemed a close contact of an infected person and was forced to quarantine for five days even though he tested negative.

Rodgers has a positive test and is unvaccinated, giving him no chance to return in time for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. He must be away from the team for 10 days and also have two negative tests 24 hours apart to return, meaning there’s a chance he could miss two games. The soonest Rodgers can return to the team is Saturday, Nov. 13, and the Packers play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Nov. 14.

Practice squad quarterback Kurt Benkert also tested positive for COVID-19 and is on the league’s reserve list as of Tuesday. Rodgers practiced with the team on Monday.

With Rodgers out, the Packers will start 2019 first-round pick Jordan Love at quarterback.

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Seahawks announce new COVID-19 safety measures for home games

All fans 12 years or older will be required to provide full proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours for entry.

The Seahawks didn’t have any fans for their home games last season. This year, fans are welcome back at Lumen Field. However, there will be some new rules to follow for those attending games for the 2021 campaign.

Today, the team and stadium announced several new rules to combat the spread of COVID-19. All fans 12 years or older will be required to provide full proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours for entry.

Masks will also be required at all times regardless of vaccination except when eating or drinking. This is in accordance with a new outdoor mask mandate by King County that became active today.

Seattle’s first home game this year will be Week 2 against the Titans.

You can find more info here.

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Vaccination status could matter as final cuts for Bills loom

Vaccination status could matter as final cuts for #Bills loom:

Brandon Beane doesn’t need to cut his roster down to 53 until August 31.

The Buffalo Bills released five players on Tuesday, the second wave of preseason cuts, to reduce its roster to 81 players. Beane doesn’t know the current percentage of players vaccinated due to the recent roster moves. He estimates it to be near or under the 80% threshold.

Beane was chastised by the NFL for comments made about cutting players due to vaccination status in the spring. Beane was asked if he would consider cutting an unvaccinated player if it meant the team could lift or loosen NFL COVID-19 protocols restricting in-person meetings.

“Yes I would,” Beane said on the team-sponsored One Bills Live in May.

Beane was later notified by the league he may not cut a player solely due to vaccination status. Beane said it would be an advantage to cut a player to fall under the lesser restrictions.

Tuesday, the Bills, faced their first COIVD situation this season where it impacted multiple players. A trainer tested positive and four starters were deemed close contacts. Vernon Butler, Star Lotulelei, Gabriel Davis, and Cole Beasley are now out for up to five days.

Beane was once again asked how vaccination status could impact how he builds his roster.

“Yeah I mean you do have to try and look at everything,” Beane said. “It’s hard. I’m not going to get boxed in, to what I said in the spring but it’s tough. We’re trying to figure it out and we’ll try to have as many answers as we can if and when this does happen in the season. That’s probably the best I can answer.”

If a player chooses to get vaccinated now they would need two weeks to be considered fully vaccinated. That’s if they opt for the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and not multiple dosages like Pfizer.

If a player makes that decision they would be fully vaccinated from one shot for the season opener on Sept. 12.

“They’re all pretty well educated,” Beane said. “It’s an independent personal decision. That’s really where it is. It’s not a mandatory thing that’s agreed upon by the league and the union.”

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Wisconsin football’s vaccination rate continues to climb with the season now 11 days away

Wisconsin football’s vaccination rate continues to climb with the season now 11 days away

A big storyline surrounding the 2021 Big Ten football season will be the COVID-19 situation with each team.

We saw what happened last season when COVID-19 struck the Badgers, as the team was forced to miss two full weeks of football activity directly after an impressive Week 1 victory.

The 2021 season is set to be different, though, with vaccines available and a different conference protocol.

Head coach Paul Chryst said last month his team had reached an 85% vaccination rate. Today he said that number has gone up, and a UW official later told The Zone’s Zach Heilprin that the number is now at 90%.

With a team struck by COVID being forced to forfeit the weekend’s game, the increase is positive news for Wisconsin’s chances at completing a full schedule this season.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Bills’ Dion Dawkins on COVID battle: ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make this’

#Bills’ Dion Dawkins on COVID battle: ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make this’ (via @NateMendelson):

Underweight, out of breath, Dion Dawkins is working himself back from a battle with COVID-19 that featured a four-day hospital stay at Buffalo General Medical Center.

The 27-year-old left tackle couldn’t believe the virus hit him so hard. Moments in hospital where self-doubt took over and he didn’t know if he would make it. Fresh off an offseason workout program, he questioned how a healthy professional athlete could end up this way.

“It was one of the lowest points that I’ve ever been,” Dawkins said via video conference. “I never even thought I can get that low because I’m so animated and that hit hard. It hit the mental stuff, just every part of me.”

“I don’t want to scare anybody, but there were moments where I was like ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make this,'” Dawkins added.

Doctors and nurses were working to get Dawkins better. Among a checklist of symptoms, Dawkins says he hit every box including shortness of breath, dehydration, and wavering temperatures. His weight dropped from 334 to 318 pounds.

Dawkins took the initiative to get vaccinated and received one shot of the vaccine before his positive test. He’s glad that he had the vaccine with COVID and wishes he was fully inoculated. Dawkins ultimately felt it was the right decision because he wanted to protect his six-month-old son, Dilray.

His bout with COVID-19 inspired his family to receive their shots. Dawkins doesn’t know if it has changed the mind of any fans or teammates.

“Overall the first reaction besides being like ‘you’re skinny’ was guys wanting the knowledge of exactly what was going on and how it really made me feel,” Dawkins said. “I told them the honest truth of what I went through in my quarantine period and being away from my family and the process of everything. Letting them understand that’s a point that you really don’t want to get to, especially when football is going on.”

Now he’s back to being focused on football. Dawkins still struggles in practice with his conditioning and sometimes needs an extra moment. The more practices he participates in, the more his confidence grows in being prepared for the season. He’s only gone through three padded practices.

“He’s not close to where he needs to be to play and help us,” head coach Sean McDermott said on Sunday. “He’s got a long road here, He’s going to control what he can control and so are we. He’s going to continue to work hard to get himself back. This is Week 4 of training camp, so he’s missed a lot of time.”

Dawkins acknowledges how a positive test could affect not just him but the entire Bills team. If he tests positive, then contract tracing could push guys playing next to him like Jon Feliciano and Mitch Morse out as well.

But he can’t say everybody should be vaccinated since everybody’s life is different.

“Some people believe in God, and some people don’t,” Dawkins said. “To put everybody in one basket, I can’t find myself doing that.”

He encourages individuals to do their own research and figure out what’s best for them and their families.

The Bills have been at the forefront of the player vaccination discussion with wide receiver Cole Beasley voicing his displeasure on Twitter. In late July he and Jerry Hughes went back and forth on getting the vaccine. The latter being pro-vaccination.

Beasley questioned what happened to “God’s will” and when everybody started believing in science during his tirade. He stated he will receive the vaccine if Pfizer puts a percentage of its earnings in his wife’s name. Beasley later released a song titled Heavy 1s where he discusses his anti-vaccine stance.

“I don’t think (Beasley’s) downplaying it,” Dawkins said. “I just think he was downplaying the knowledge that was given to him. You know, everybody learns differently. Being an athlete we were spoiled, here drink this, take this. But I think the knowledge that he was given from the world, not the facility, just wasn’t enough for him to make a decision and as a person feels he can speak his mind. I don’t think he was downplaying it he just wants more knowledge to make the right decision.”

Dawkins wanted to give all the credit to the training staff, doctors, and strength staff that have been working with him every day. He says he was “completely lost” but they gave him the knowledge and stuff to get through it.

On Monday the Atlanta Falcons announced they were the first team to be 100% vaccinated against COVID-19.

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Only 1 Seahawks players remains unvaccinated against COVID-19

After all returning players are processed, only one Seattle Seahawks member will remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 for personal reasons.

The Seattle Seahawks have been one of the most successful clubs in the NFL as far as keeping coronavirus outbreaks at bay. Now, with training camp just getting started, the Seahawks are set to have nearly their entire roster vaccinated in the near future.

“By the time we get everybody processed, we’ll have one guy that isn’t vaccinated, so we’re really thrilled about that,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters on Wednesday. “The guys made an extraordinary effort to take care of one another. The statement they made, particularly the guys who were uncertain about what to do, they made a decision based on their team as well as themselves. They wanted to do what was best for everybody and what would be safest for everyone, so that’s a marvelous statement that our guys made.”

Seattle has 91 players on the roster heading into camp and 90 of those have had at least one COVID-19 shot. As for the one holdout, Carroll was able to provide the following information:

“He’s got real personal reasons why that goes back to the family stuff, so we’re going to take care of him throughout.”

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NFL takes step toward mandated vaccinations with threat of game forfeiture in 2021

The NFL has taken a step to mandate COVID-19 vaccination without actually mandating COVID-19 vaccination.

The NFL is putting its foot down when it comes to COVID-19 outbreaks during the 2021 season.

Over a dozen games were rescheduled due to the virus during the 2020 NFL season and now the NFL is pushing to ensure there are no cancellations and few rescheduled games in 2021. The league sent out a memo on Thursday, which was in part shared by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The memo details new rules as it relates to rescheduled and canceled games during the upcoming season.

If a game cannot be played during the 18-week regular season, specifically due to a COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players, teams will be forced to forfeit that game. The forfeiture will count as a loss and be credited toward playoff seeding. Teams that are deemed responsible for an outbreak will also be responsible for repaying financial losses and subject to potential discipline from the league depending on the circumstances of the outbreak.

On top of all that, players on both teams will not be paid their weekly game salary if a game is forfeited due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

While these new rules don’t officially mandate that players be vaccinated against COVID-19, it’s pushing teams to ensure that their players and staff members have been vaccinated. The harsh discipline doesn’t just impact the teams and their bottom line, but it impacts the players and their bottom line too. It also seems to pit vaccinated and unvaccinated players against each other when it comes to potential loss of wages.

The hope here seems to be that this will encourage teams to continue to educate, promote and inspire their players and staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the start of the 2021 NFL season. Let’s hope that’s the case and that things get off to a smooth start with cases of COVID-19 variants on the rise and football season rapidly approaching.

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