Coach frustrated with distrust of vaccines.
Ron Rivera has absolutely had enough.
The Washington Football Team’s head coach did not hold back when talking about how frustrated he was with the amount of distrust there is with COVID-19 vaccines.
“Gen Z is relying on phones. And you got some, quite frankly, f— a—holes, that are putting a bunch of misinformation out there, leading people to die,” Rivera, 59, told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer in a column published Monday. “That’s frustrating to me, that these people are allowed to have a platform.
“And then one specific news agency, every time they have someone on, ‘I’m not a doctor, but vaccines don’t work,’ Or ‘I’m not an epidemiologist, but vaccines are going to give you a third nipple and make you sterile,’ ” Rivera continued. “Come on. That, to me? That should not be allowed.”
Rivera — who was one of the first people to get vaccinated after being diagnosed with skin cancer last year, a condition which has left him immunocompromised — has been one of the biggest advocates among his team for players to get vaccinated.
“I have to be careful, I have to wear a mask,” Rivera said. “We’ve had a couple of situations with players already testing positive for COVID, and that scares the hell out of me, because I interact with these guys.”
Rivera’s team had a reported six players on the reserve/COVID-19 list on July 31, the second-most around the league at the time — the Arizona Cardinals had nine. The Washington Football Team was one of the slowest to improve vaccination rates.
Days before camps were set to open in July, NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell released a memo to players and teams with an ultimatum that if games get canceled because of an outbreak among unvaccinated players or staff, the team with the outbreak will be forced to forfeit and won’t be paid for the game.
Player waived after crash:
The Detroit Lions waived cornerback Alex Brown after Michigan State Police say he was the driver of the car that caused the crash after driving the wrong way on a highway in Detroit shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday.
The passenger in the car going the wrong way as well as another driver were critically injured, according to police.
“Driving under the influence is a matter we take very seriously,” the team said in a release. “We as an organization extend our thoughts and support to the victim and his family during his recovery.”
First to 100%: The Atlanta Falcons have become the first NFL team to have all of its players complete COVID-19 vaccinations. The Falcons opened training camp with more than 90% of their players vaccinated, and they confirmed Monday they reached 100%. Atlanta becomes the first team able to have all its players not wear masks around the facility and eat and work out together.
Briefly: Dolphins wide receiver Allen Hurns is expected to be sidelined for three months because of a wrist injury, the team said . ... The Seahawks waived former Stanford running back Cameron Scarlett.