Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield slammed the National Football League (NFL) in a series of tweets on Thursday evening over its apparent vaccine inconsistency, and suggested that the NFL not delaying games amid a surge of coronavirus cases is evidence that the league does not care about its players.
“@NFL Make up your damn mind on protocols,” Mayfield wrote. “Showing up and making only 3 teams test?!? All so you can keep the game as scheduled to make money.”
“Actually caring about player safety would mean delaying the game with this continuing at the rate it is….” the Cleveland Browns quarterback continued in a follow-up tweet. “But to say you won’t test vaccinated players if they don’t have symptoms, then to pull this randomly. Doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Tell me if this makes sense…. No tests this morning… then let our team gather for practice… then show up after practice to test them. Something seems off here,” Mayfield added.
On Thursday, the NFL announced new protocols after a spike of coronavirus cases swept across the league.
The NFL said it would be altering return-to-play protocols for vaccinated players who test positive for Covid-19 but are asymptomatic.
Additionally, all players and staff members — regardless of vaccination status — are now required to wear masks. Team meetings must also take place either outdoors or remotely.
Players are also forbidden from dining together in groups. Meals will now be “grab-and-go,” and players must be seated 10 feet apart from each other.
The league added that it would “strongly encourage” players to get booster shots, but reportedly did not issue a mandate.
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