NFL: No jersey swaps after football men tackle each other for hours
Jul 9, 2020, 10:23 AM | Updated: 11:00 am
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, left, and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, left, exchange jerseys after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The NFL won’t look the same if it can get off the ground navigating the post-coronavirus world.
Media access will be limited. Travel protocols for players will be strictly enforced.
And no more postgame jersey exchanges, a ritual that’s woven into the fabric of the league. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that players will be asked to remain six feet apart from one another after games, meaning they cannot exchange jerseys as is custom.
That’s a fair protocol considering the severity of the virus. But also … shouldn’t gang tackling one another be frowned upon, like, during the game?
It seems a bit hypocritical, even if the exact precaution was agreed upon by both the NFL and the NFLPA, as Pelissero’s co-worker, Ian Rapoport, added.
Some NFL players and a slew of fans don’t exactly see the logic behind that specific restriction if, you know, large football men are tackling, blocking, breathing and sweating on one another for the three hours prior to them potentially sharing a sharpie to write a message of goodwill to their opponent.
what about the 4 quarters prior to that https://t.co/3JCd6k5Ra9
— charles (#1 wear a damn mask fan) mcdonald (@FourVerts) July 9, 2020
thats DAMN SILLY bro.. 🤦🏾♂️ https://t.co/QDOwn2G3bc
— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) July 9, 2020
The league will be ROCKED by the first time Deshaun Watson responds with “BREAK TACKLE!!!” and keeps running
— Benjamin Hoffman (@BenHoffmanNYT) July 9, 2020
💡 I got it! The COVID gets deactivated while we play…they’re so smart!🙃 https://t.co/yALYYlHl7Q
— Juice Wims (@Javon_Juice) July 9, 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
— Hayden Hurst (@haydenrhurst) July 9, 2020
This has to be a joke… https://t.co/OrJBcBtiFl pic.twitter.com/cA8Iu0LI39
— Randall Cobb (@rcobb18) July 9, 2020
allowing a 60-minute full contact football game but saying you’re taking precautions because you ban handshakes and jersey swaps is like eating 34 wings and then eating 2 pieces of celery and saying it was a healthy meal because you ate vegetables https://t.co/yOIlBKY4iu
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) July 9, 2020
this is like when teachers would enforce NO GRINDING at high school dances like kids weren’t going to after parties https://t.co/g28AL2ud1s
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) July 9, 2020
— 🆎 (@AB3127_) July 9, 2020
NFL owners and executives pic.twitter.com/v06CPw4J8J
— some guy (@Stevewe98525120) July 9, 2020
Many of the protocols will be refined with more than two weeks to go before the NFL plans to allow teams to gather in person for training camp.
But it appears the NFL’s decisions that look more like performance acts than true safety measures aren’t going to go over well.
