New NFL-NFLPA Covid protocols

[YoloinOhio]

4 minutes ago, PastaJoe said:

The NFLPA website says the Bills don’t have a rep picked, but Harrison Phillips and Dion Dawkins are alternates.

 

https://nflpa.com/about/nflpa-officers

I bet that is a job no one wants 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

8 minutes ago, PastaJoe said:

The NFLPA website says the Bills don’t have a rep picked, but Harrison Phillips and Dion Dawkins are alternates.

 

https://nflpa.com/about/nflpa-officers

 

I guess their rep used to be Zo Alexander, though you woulda thought they woulda picked one last season to replace him.

 

OK, so he should talk to Phillips and Dawkins.  He should try to put it as questions - how do they know that vaccinated players won't come back to the hotel and infect me?

9 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

"That's why I'm on here"?!? Because everything gets solved on Twitter? That's his best place to go?

 

Ah yeah, see, he has no real intention of "getting things right". He just wants to be contrarian so he feels smarter.

 

Dude was annoying on the Cowboys All or Nothing. Still a dumb little punk now.

 

I'm not judging his motives.  If he has questions, and is upset about the protocols, Twitter is clearly not his best place to go. 

 

But he should have a place to go, and the people who crafted the protocols should be willing to explain and defend them, not brush him off.

 

 

4 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I bet that is a job no one wants 

 

You may be right.  Maybe Beasley should take it on LOL

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I guess their rep used to be Zo Alexander, though you woulda thought they woulda picked one last season to replace him.

 

OK, so he should talk to Phillips and Dawkins.  He should try to put it as questions - how do they know that vaccinated players won't come back to the hotel and infect me?

 

You're assuming he wants to have an actual conversation, and will really bother to listen to answers. Which he would have done by now if that were true.

 

He isn't "tweeting in good faith".

[Hapless Bills Fan]

15 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Bills save $4M on the cap if they were to cut Beasely.

Just saying.

 

Cole Beasley caught 77% of the 106 balls thrown his way last season.   He came within 34 yards (half a games production) of 1000 yd season.  He played 3 playoff games on a broken leg.  He's a helluva football player.

 

Just saying.

 

10 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

You're assuming he wants to have an actual conversation, and will really bother to listen to answers. Which he would have done by now if that were true.  He isn't "tweeting in good faith".

 

I'm assuming he's upset about the protocols and isn't quite sure how to channel that concern productively - a problem that's not unique to football players.

 

He's not a guy who habitually hangs out on Twitter to start fights and keep rolling with them like Rachel Bush does.  Well, she's not a guy, but you get my point.

 

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Cole Beasley caught 77% of the 106 balls thrown his way last season.   He came within 34 yards (half a games production) of 1000 yd season.  He played 3 playoff games on a broken leg.  He's a helluva football player.

 

Just saying.

 

And we still signed Emmanuel Sanders.

[DrDawkinstein]

For being on a team that decided they would not discuss vaccinations with the media, Beasley sure is saying a lot of stuff...

 

 

[JoPoy88]

32 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

For being on a team that decided they would not discuss vaccinations with the media, Beasley sure is saying a lot of stuff...

 

 

And wait until a reporter asks Beasley about his latest twitter meltdown and the usual suspects here will trash the reporter for doing his job. Like clockwork.

[YoloinOhio]

3 minutes ago, JoPoy88 said:

And wait until a reporter asks Beasley about his latest twitter meltdown and the usual suspects here will trash the reporter for doing his job. Like clockwork.

Bills PR won’t put him in front of the media, plus the entire team won’t be available for well over a month 

[DrDawkinstein]

5 minutes ago, JoPoy88 said:

And wait until a reporter asks Beasley about his latest twitter meltdown and the usual suspects here will trash the reporter for doing his job. Like clockwork.

 

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

Bills PR won’t put him in front of the media, plus the entire team won’t be available for well over a month 

 

I hope the next time McD or Beane speak with the media, every question is about Beasley.

[Doc Brown]

The kid played through a painful injury last playoffs so I don't doubt his toughness and commitment.  His intelligence on the other hand....

[GoBills808]

Not a good look when the team decides to keep the COVID stuff in house Beasley decides to go on Twitter rants

[Billsflyer12]

We have a very large and strong union with my job.  Our union also reached an agreement on vaccines without our vote.  Not all things required member body vote to come to an agreement within a union.  We actually got a really good deal for getting vaccinated and had over 80% of 13,000 vaccinated within 2 weeks of agreement.  Those who remain unvaccinated, that’s their choice, but life will become very inconvenient for them.

 

This really doesn’t seem that hard, not sure why it is for some of them.

Edited June 17, 2021 by Billsflyer12

[GottaRun]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Cole Beasley caught 77% of the 106 balls thrown his way last season.   He came within 34 yards (half a games production) of 1000 yd season.  He played 3 playoff games on a broken leg.  He's a helluva football player.

 

 

He is, but he could also be a major locker room disrupter this season.  I'm sure most teams have at least 1 similar player, hopefully McD is able to keep this under control, if not it can turn into a major distraction this team doesn't need.  

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Why are Bills players talking like they can do anything at all about it?

 

Get the vaccine or don't. 

[YoloinOhio]

Lol mongo 

 

 

[Logic]

2 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Lol mongo 

 

 

Mongo would be a surefire 1st round pick in the “Bills players I wouldn’t want to pick a fight with” draft.

[Augie]

15 hours ago, Logic said:

Mongo would be a surefire 1st round pick in the “Bills players I wouldn’t want to pick a fight with” draft.

 

That’s my favorite thing about him! He will come in and move the pile for 3-4 yards after the RB gets held up. I absolutely LOVE that about him! 

 

 

.

Edited June 18, 2021 by Augie

[716er]

So much for keeping the convos in the locker room like the leaders of the offense and defense said would happen.

Why will they continue to be asked about vaccinations? Because Cole won’t shut up.

 

3 hours ago, Process said:

 

🤡 

[BringBackFergy]

[SirAndrew]

Forget about the subject matter, I don’t even want to discuss that part. My issue is the fact that Beasley feels such a need to be heard. It’s simply a case of self above team. If he has an issue with NFLPA, he should be free to address that in the proper forum. Instead he’s using his platform to share personal thoughts that stray from being solely a team related issue. There’s no need to convince the public of anything, he’s free to believe whatever he chooses, but take up the issue with the proper people. That’s a much better option than engaging in such non-process style attention seeking. 

Edited June 18, 2021 by SirAndrew

[HardyBoy]

2 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

Forget about the subject matter, I don’t even want to discuss that part. My issue is the fact that Beasley feels such a need to be heard. It’s simply a case of self above team. If he has an issue with NFLPA, he should be free to address that in the proper forum. Instead he’s using his platform to share personal thoughts that stray from being solely a team related issue. There’s no need to convince the public of anything, he’s free believe whatever he chooses, but take up the issue with the proper people. That’s a much better option than engaging in such non-process style attention seeking. 

 

This isn't anti-process. He's concerned about the health of himself and his family. Have to imagine McD puts family over team in the hierarchy of importance.

Edited June 18, 2021 by HardyBoy

[716er]

5 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

We dislike the fact that he's doing this publicly? He's objectively got a point and you usually don't get bring about change being quiet and polite.

 

The unquestionable leader of the franchise said we keep this topic in the locker room. 

 

And Cole spouts off on Twitter. 

 

That's the issue IMO. 

[JoPoy88]

7 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

I mean he isn't wrong right? This exposes unvaccinated players to elevated risk of contracting the virus from their vaccinated teammates.

 

We dislike the fact that he's doing this publicly? He's objectively got a point and you usually don't get bring about change being quiet and polite.

 

We should not be using punishment to incentivize medical treatment decisions. Probably shouldn't use positive rewards either... it's a bit manipulative and ethically uncomfortable in my opinion (I got vaccinated first chance I had fwiw).

 

I don't see him denying the severity of the virus either here, he's doing the opposite really. If he is still diligently following social distancing and masking guidelines (assumption) and not going into crowded indoor spaces I think having a safe place to go to work is a legit expectation in 2021...2022 and onward as this becomes likey endemic, sure I think at some point it becomes more of a risk you take, but it is still so early even if feels like it's been going on so long.

 

I see the other side for sure how vaccinated people just want to get back to normal, but young kids aren't vaccinated and as a parent of a 1 and 4 year old, I want to get on Twitter and say something similar.

 

He’s getting dragged for airing these complaints and dumping on his union publicly because team leaders have repeatedly said they won’t address anything vaccine-related publicly, preemptively shutting down media members from asking questions about the subject at all. 
 

With that context, you can see why what Beasley is doing (for, like, the 3rd time now) stinks of hypocrisy, yes?

[716er]

3 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

 

This isn't anti-process. 

 

What is the antithesis of the team leader's thoughts if not anti-process?

[JoPoy88]

4 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

 

This isn't anti-process. He's concerned about the health of himself and his family. Have to imagine McD puts family over team in the hierarchy of importance.

as someone who is clearly anti-vaccine currently, Cole absolutely should be concerned about his and his family’s health. Crying on twitter about league protocols does nothing to help protect his health. Getting vaccinated would.

[HardyBoy]

1 minute ago, 716er said:

 

The unquestionable leader of the franchise said we keep this topic in the locker room. 

 

And Cole spouts off on Twitter. 

 

That's the issue IMO. 

 

There is zero chance this changes if he keeps it in the locker room. This is not a question of discussing the value of vaccines publicly. He's talking about how the policies enacted by ownership and the union leadership, in which he had no input and no amount of in locker room talk would change are putting him and his family at risk.

[716er]

Just now, HardyBoy said:

 

There is zero chance this changes if he keeps it in the locker room. This is not a question of discussing the value of vaccines publicly. He's talking about how the policies enacted by ownership and the union leadership, in which he had no input and no amount of in locker room talk would change are putting him and his family at risk.

 

What does the Tweet at 3:33 PM have to do with the policies enacted by ownership and the union leadership?

 

 

[jlgarsh]

50 minutes ago, 716er said:

So much for keeping the convos in the locker room like the leaders of the offense and defense said would happen.

Why will they continue to be asked about vaccinations? Because Cole won’t shut up.

 

🤡

This was really disrespectful of Cole. Healthcare workers have been heroes the past 15 months. My best friend’s mom lost her friend (who was a nurse) to Covid, that she got while caring for patients at the hospital. 
 

My office reopened Wednesday, and in order to be let in the door, I had to upload a copy of my vaccination card. I could still work remote, but I like having the option to work both places. His employer is giving him a choice, albeit with different protocols depending on that choice. I can understand why someone undergoing chemo, or who is pregnant, or otherwise immune compromised having concerns, and checking with their doctor and deciding not to get the shot. As a society, everyone able to get the shot should do so, to help protect people unable to. I really hope McDermott and Beane have a heart to heart with him about it, because it’s going to become a needless distraction for the team. Picking fights with fans is never good for public relations either.

[HardyBoy]

4 minutes ago, JoPoy88 said:

He’s getting dragged for airing these complaints and dumping on his union publicly because team leaders have repeatedly said they won’t address anything vaccine-related publicly, preemptively shutting down media members from asking questions about the subject at all. 
 

With that context, you can see why what Beasley is doing (for, like, the 3rd time now) stinks of hypocrisy, yes?

 

Health and safety protocols are not vaccine related though. That's like saying we're not going to talk about concussions, and then say a player is going against that if they suddenly said helmets were no longer a requirement for some players.

 

There are people who cannot get vaccinated as well, even if they wanted to. Also, you can't force someone to get vaccinated...that is a given, just is what it is. With that as a given, there is still a moral responsibility to look out for people. For all we know, he is diligently socially distancing and still has not seen a bunch of family because he is choosing not to get vaccinated. Or maybe he's doing none of that, I have no idea.

 

You don't get a pass on being a moral empathetic human who follows the golden rule because the person in a specific situation made a arguably dumb decision case in point:

 

Oh wow, you walked out on that thin ice and fell through...ooof that was pretty dumb wasn't it...yeah, you read the sign and ignored it didn't you...ok well that's on you, but good luck with that...

[HalftimeAdjustment]

I think I'm off the "fan of Cole" bandwagon. Not because he chooses not to get vaccinated (apparently) but because he feels the need to complain about the rules on Twitter and make false/misleading analogies. He absolutely could have contacted his NFLPA reps or even gone to other players to approach them in a group, but instead he's carrying on and asking someone if they cared about people who died of the flu. So, I will root for him as a Bill, but as a person I'll group him with a few other Bills players that I didn't care for over the years.

[JoPoy88]

1 minute ago, HardyBoy said:

 

Health and safety protocols are not vaccine related though. That's like saying we're not going to talk about concussions, and then say a player is going against that if they suddenly said helmets were no longer a requirement for some players.

 

There are people who cannot get vaccinated as well, even if they wanted to. Also, you can't force someone to get vaccinated...that is a given, just is what it is. With that as a given, there is still a moral responsibility to look out for people. For all we know, he is diligently socially distancing and still has not seen a bunch of family because he is choosing not to get vaccinated. Or maybe he's doing none of that, I have no idea.

 

You don't get a pass on being a moral empathetic human who follows the golden rule because the person in a specific situation made a arguably dumb decision case in point:

 

Oh wow, you walked out on that thin ice and fell through...ooof that was pretty dumb wasn't it...yeah, you read the sign and ignored it didn't you...ok well that's on you, but good luck with that...

Pfff hahahaha. The protocols he’s complaining about are DIRECTLY related to the vaccination status of the players. His follow up tweets were also directly talking about vaccinations. 
 

Now if this is an elaborate troll, you got me. If not, well everyone reading your scribblings knows who the “dumb” one is chief.

[JoPoy88]

10 minutes ago, HalftimeAdjustment said:

I think I'm off the "fan of Cole" bandwagon. Not because he chooses not to get vaccinated (apparently) but because he feels the need to complain about the rules on Twitter and make false/misleading analogies. He absolutely could have contacted his NFLPA reps or even gone to other players to approach them in a group, but instead he's carrying on and asking someone if they cared about people who died of the flu. So, I will root for him as a Bill, but as a person I'll group him with a few other Bills players that I didn't care for over the years.

Pretty much any other course of action would’ve been better than hopping on twitter and calling the NFLPA a joke. I get it; he’s PO’ed - the protocols for unvaccinated players are extremely strict. But twitter ranting ain’t gonna help.

[FireChans]

36 minutes ago, 716er said:

 

What does the Tweet at 3:33 PM have to do with the policies enacted by ownership and the union leadership?

 

 

Cole out here dunking on the Journos. 
 

Get em buddy

[Punching Bag]

On 6/16/2021 at 8:16 PM, pennstate10 said:

 

Lol. Median NFL salary is $2.3 million. Median US household income is $60,000. 

 

Yet you'd retire because you didn't want a little owwie 

 

Not think you should compare Median NFL salary to him who would be lucky to make a practice squad.

[HardyBoy]

9 minutes ago, JoPoy88 said:

Pfff hahahaha. The protocols he’s complaining about are DIRECTLY related to the vaccination status of the players. His follow up tweets were also directly talking about vaccinations. 
 

Now if this is an elaborate troll, you got me. If not, well everyone reading your scribblings knows who the “dumb” one is chief.

 

Cool, so you think morality and treating others morally is dependent on their making the right choices? That is a very, very slippery slope. Who decides what's right?

 

And no, the protocol is for covid19 safety, one of the options for which is vaccines. The other is not getting vaccinated and following much stricter guidelines. Those guidelines are not sufficient to protect the players that they are design to protect to a pretty significant degree...I'd argue getting vaccinated is way less risky (with what we know right now) than the risk of an unvaccinated player catching covid from a vaccinated teammate. 

 

Also, he would be right to say this if he was vaccinated too. There is a potential gap in the protocol. If you don't want to let unvaccinated players play, fine make it a rule. They didn't, they implemented a protocol. That protocol is insufficient.

 

I would be sticking up for a teammate/coworker at work if my company said everyone had to come in and protocols allowed vaccinated people who are not socially distancing hang out with unvaccinated people without masks.

 

Did we suddenly stop caring if someone making a dumb choice gets sick and passes it to an unvaccinated pregnant woman, young child, someone not able to get vaccinated? Or was it that some people only cared when they felt the innocent person would be them or someone close to them?

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

5 hours ago, Wayne Cubed said:

It’s hard to really understand where he’s coming from. I can understand if the NFLPA did this without asking anyone or getting a sense of what the majority of players wanted.  But maybe they did and maybe the majority of NFLPA members are ok with these rules?

 

I think the way it's supposed to work is that the NFLPA rep from each team is supposed to get info on the proposed rules and take them to the players he represents.  Since the Bills are listed as not having an NFLPA rep, maybe that didn't happen?  Or maybe the Bills "alternates" Dawkins and Phillips were supposed to make it happen and "dropped the ball" being too busy with other stuff?

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

And we still signed Emmanuel Sanders.

 

The guy who wasn't "in sync" with Allen, dropped a pass on the numbers, and wouldn't talk to the media after practice as scheduled?  That guy?

 

He was supposed to be "in addition to" not "instead of"

[wjag]

The interesting thing about Beasley on Twitter is not what he said, but the fact he is on Twitter at all. At one point last season he stated in an interview that he had quit all social media and was now living his best life because of it.  Social media must be like crack for the modern athlete.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

22 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

 

Cool, so you think morality and treating others morally is dependent on their making the right choices? That is a very, very slippery slope. Who decides what's right?

 

This is neither about football and is a pretty long leap from the post you're responding to.  Take it somewhere else.

 

Quote

And no, the protocol is for covid19 safety, one of the options for which is vaccines. The other is not getting vaccinated and following much stricter guidelines. Those guidelines are not sufficient to protect the players that they are design to protect to a pretty significant degree...I'd argue getting vaccinated is way less risky (with what we know right now) than the risk of an unvaccinated player catching covid from a vaccinated teammate. 

 

Also, he would be right to say this if he was vaccinated too. There is a potential gap in the protocol. If you don't want to let unvaccinated players play, fine make it a rule. They didn't, they implemented a protocol. That protocol is insufficient.

 

I would be sticking up for a teammate/coworker at work if my company said everyone had to come in and protocols allowed vaccinated people who are not socially distancing hang out with unvaccinated people without masks.

 

Did we suddenly stop caring if someone making a dumb choice gets sick and passes it to an unvaccinated pregnant woman, young child, someone not able to get vaccinated? Or was it that some people only cared when they felt the innocent person would be them or someone close to them?

 

 

OK a couple of things:

1) The protocol for covid-19 safety is indeed vaccine related, because the NFL has chosen to set up two sets of safety protocols - one for vaccinated and one for unvaccinated players. 

2) We are NOT going to go into whether or not the NFL protocols have a gap or are sufficient.  That can't be rationally discussed without a deep dive into the latest data on covid-19 transmission to vaccinated people and by vaccinated people, and we're simply not going to do that here. 

 

I'm not sure I know the answer myself at this point.  I have some questions, but that's different than a definitive statement "that protocol is insufficient".

 

I do know that the NFL's protocols last season, when followed, were very effective and that when they weren't, they looked for the gap and made adjustments to fill it.  Their medical consultants did a very good job of being data-driven and adjusting to new data that emerged.

 

Further posts down the rabbit hole of pronouncing that the protocols are insufficient (or sufficient) thus eliciting general discussion on that point will quietly disappear.

 

[716er]

3 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

Beasley's post

 

Could have stopped there - that's the problem.