Players Not Happy as NFL Bans Post-Game Jersey Swaps Amid Covid Precautions
As the NFL prepares for the (potential) 2020 season, it has decided on a variety of new rules in an effort to keep players and staff safe. The precautions have been mostly well received, however one measure drawn the attention of players across the league. NFL insider Tom Pelissero reports that Jersey Swaps will be banned for players after the games:
At first glance this seems like no big deal, right? Just another precaution attempting to keep everyone safe. Well, theres some things you just don’t mess with in life: family, religion, and jersey swaps. That sure seems to be the case anyway, according the the reactions across social media. Check out just a few of the of them below:
I get off Twitter for a couple hours and I come back to them telling us no jersey swaps ….. It’s something every other day dawg 🤦🏾♂️
— F L ⚡️ S H (@Melvingordon25) July 9, 2020
This has to be a joke… https://t.co/OrJBcBtiFl pic.twitter.com/cA8Iu0LI39
— Randall Cobb (@rcobb18) July 9, 2020
thats DAMN SILLY bro.. 🤦🏾♂️ https://t.co/QDOwn2G3bc
— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) July 9, 2020
So is everyone going no huddle this year or??
— Mohamed Sanu Sr. (@Mo_12_Sanu) July 10, 2020
This is a perfect example of NFL thinking in a nutshell. Players can go engage in a full contact game and do it safely. However, it is deemed unsafe for them to exchange jerseys after said game. 😂🤣😂 https://t.co/fWefsUSVDc
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 9, 2020
Sherman does make a fantastic point. Players will take part in a full contact game for 60+ minutes, making tackles and definitely getting closer than 6 feet to one another. But after all that is said and done, its unsafe to spend an extra two minutes exchanging jerseys with one another?? I am one hundred percent all for wearing masks, taking precautions, and trying to be as safe as possible in these uncertain times, but who are we really protecting with a rule like this?
Final Thoughts
Everyone needs to take a deep breath and calm down. In today’s political and social climate’s it’s easy to make a big deal out of anything. And there are so many things we should care about. But we’re talking about exchanging jerseys here. Does it come across as a pointless rule the NFL just threw in with other valid precautions? Yes. Is the ban going to have a negative impact on literally anything (outside of maybe player’s collections)? No. We may not even have an NFL season if Covid cases continue to rise in the U.S. so let’s get off twitter for a while, take a chill pill, and save our energy for issues that actually matter.
–Nick Hannigan (Twitter: @TheNickHannigan)