NFL says protocols were followed with Ravens’ Bryant
The NFL's medical director says all procedures followed before the Baltimore Ravens' game Tuesday night when receiver Dez Bryant tested positive for COVID-19 were done properly and in the same manner as for every case.
Bryant had an inconclusive test result after he was active for the game. He was removed from the field during warmups and tested again. The league and the Ravens then conducted contact tracing but found no close contacts that would have caused an interruption in playing the game against Dallas, nor the removal of other players or team personnel.
“I made the final determination that there were no high-risk close contacts to the case, so there was no need to remove anyone else,” Dr. Allen Sills said
Wednesday.
“I would say it was a very straightforward review simply because there were very few contacts identified by the data. I think that's a reflection of the fact that this club has been under our intensive protocol and certainly has done a tremendous job with compliance around their facility leading up to the game.”
Baltimore, which won the game, 3417, couldn't replace Bryant on the roster.
“That was a big challenge. The timing of this thing, it's a crazy kind of a deal,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “But we had already turned in our inactives, and then we were informed.”
The league does not expect to have access to COVID-19 vaccines this season, and Sills reiterated that the NFL would not “jump the line” in any way.
Teams lag league in diversity hiring: A diversity report in the NFL assigned high grades for the league office but lagging scores at team levels for racial and gender hiring.
Wednesday's report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida assigned an overall B-minus grade for the league, with a B-plus for racial hiring and a C for gender hiring. The report examined a range of positions at the league headquarters and within franchises using data for the 2020 season.
The league headquarters received an A-plus in racial hiring and a B in gender hiring. Richard Lapchick, TIDES director and lead report author, also praised the NFL for steps such as expanding the Rooney Rule with a resolution calling for draft picks to reward organizations which develop minority coaches and front-office executives to fill leadership positions at other teams.
Grades were lower in top positions at team levels, including for head coaches and leadership roles for a sport in which the study reported 69.4% of players are people of color.
In racial hiring, league teams received a D-plus for head coaches. Team racial-hiring grades also included a D for team CEOs or presidents and an F for GMs or the principal person in charge, with Miami general manager Chris Grier and Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry as the only GMs of color to start the season.
Gender-hiring grades also lagged, with teams receiving an F for CEOs or presidents and team senior administration.