Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley has been the most outspoken NFL player on social media about his stance on the Covid 19 vaccination. He isn’t vaccinated and said NFL protocols for unvaccinated players this season, like daily Covid testing and physical distancing inside the facility, are “crazy.”
On Thursday the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams detailing operating procedures as it relates to the Covid 19 pandemic, outlining what happens if a team has a Covid outbreak among unvaccinated players. The team responsible will forfeit the game and receive a loss for playoff purposes. The game won’t count when it comes to draft or waivers purposes.
Several prominent players spoke out in the aftermath, including Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes. In a reply to a Darius Butler tweet that called the NFL “dead wrong” for its memo, sighting a lack of research on the vaccine, Hughes responded:
“Sooo the top scientists in the entire world got together to figure out how to combat Covid-19. And when they came up with a vaccine, you question them. They are trying to save lives and you have doubt?”
Butler replied and said nobody is rooting against science and medicine, but asked Hughes if he’s cool being “early in line” for the vaccine. Hughes said:
“Some ppl have an underlying health conditions, so they are at risk if an outbreak happens.”
On Friday, Beasley responded directly to Hughes, quote tweeting him to question the logic he used about health conditions.
“Jerry so if a vaccinated player gives an unvaccinated player with underlying conditions covid it’s cool though? And the player with underlying conditions gets blamed for it. From minority to the majority now the minorities don’t matter?”
Jerry so if a vaccinated player gives an unvaccinated player with underlying conditions covid it’s cool though? And the player with underlying conditions gets blamed for it. From minority to the majority now the minorities don’t matter? https://t.co/sJC1ec0DC1
— Cole Beasley (@Bease11) July 23, 2021
Hughes responded to Beasley’s tweet a few hours later:
“You would think someone with underlying health conditions Would get the vaccine to prevent future complications if they got Covid. Now I understand freedom of choice. But our job has put rules in place. Rules are rules.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott finished second in NFL Coach of the Year voting in 2020 after leading his team to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1993. He’s won 38 games and two playoff games in his three seasons in Buffalo and now has the most talented roster he’s had in a season where there is legitimate Super Bowl buzz for the team. But with players so publicly divided on the vaccine, McDermott may need to pull off his most impressive coaching job to date to get everyone on the same page.
Back in minicamp, safety Jordan Poyer – who’s been publicly supportive of Beasley – refused to comment on the vaccination issue other than to say the locker room was focused on football. His safety partner Micah Hyde used an analogy that may provide fans with some comfort when it comes to hopes that the team can figure out how to move on from the issue.
“There’s a lot of conversation going on. There’s a lot. I think that’s good though. It’s all healthy,” Hyde said. “I’ve always said that if we could kind of create a locker room in society, then we wouldn’t have the issues that we have today just because our locker room is full of so many different guys from all different backgrounds, so many different beliefs and stuff. And we all jell, we all get together. We all love being around each other. If it was like that in society, it would be totally different.”
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].