The NFL just never makes up its mind on how to handle COVID-19.
It seems to have gotten it right during the playoffs, announcing prior to the divisional round that neither vaccinated or unvaccinated players would be subject to daily testing. But just over a week before the NFL combine is set to take place in Indianapolis, agents representing over 150 draft projects are boycotting the combine because, you guessed it, the NFL has some wacky COVID protocols in place.
Any of the 324 prospects that do attend the combine will have to spend their entire time at combine-related venues under penalty of being sent home. Once word got out, the threats of boycotts ensued.
Mike McCartney, who represents former Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (who will likely get drafted number one overall), ripped the NFL a new one for its nonsensical rules.
“As an agent, I struggle with the combine,” McCartney tweeted. “Players get optimal nutrition and rest for games. The combine? Almost the opposite. Improper rest and diet, then tested in a cold, sterile environment. It’s part of why guys test better at pro days. And somehow, the NFL has now made it worse.”
Can someone please explain why we are treating these young men, (most of whom got vaccinated to play in their college seasons) like toddlers who need to be threatened with timeout so they behave well? It’s been said before, but it’s worth saying again: it makes absolutely no sense.
While the NFL certainly deserves all of the bad consequences that have come upon it, it still is disheartening that there are athletes and employees who have to deal with the NFL's idiocy on a daily basis. Could you imagine working for an employer who literally has no idea what it's doing and does everything possible to make employees miserable - all while saying it's for their “safety?”
The potential boycotts have garnered support from the NFLPA, who took this situation to criticize the combine as a whole.
“The combination of the NFL’s proposed ‘bubble’ and the fact that we still have an antiquated system of every team doctor examining players and having them perform yet again needs serious modification or elimination.”
Despite the fact that we can unfortunately expect this kind of stupidity from the most lucrative sports league in the United States, it still gets really annoying when we clearly see that the only thing it is good at is making life difficult for everyone that wants a job with it.