Brady makes bad coronavirus safety play
Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s something in the water, but exPat, now-Buc Tom Brady is going rogue. And not in a good way. As the numbers of coronavirus cases spiked in Florida, Brady went ahead with private workouts with his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates this week.
He’s not the only NFL player who’s done so, but they are firmly on the don’t list. The NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, backed up a statement by Thom Mayer, the union’s medical officer, advising against them.
“This is all about risk reduction and trying to mitigate risk. We know that we can’t eliminate risk. And so we will work very much hand in hand with the players association because, again, this is where everyone in that team environment is going to share the same risk. But they’ll also share the same responsibility to each other.” But not everyone is Tom Brady. The QB posted a picture of himself on Insta drinking water with the quote “Only thing we have to fear is fear itself — FDR.” Well, yes, fear, and a virus. One that’s surging in places around the country that have reopened without stringent safety precautions, or regard for social distancing, or lax adherence to mask wearing. Some of those states are having to reinstate restrictions.
On Friday, Florida suspended the consumption of alcohol at
bars statewide.The order came as the state recorded another spike in coronavirus cases, with the Department of Health reporting 8,942 people testing positive, passing the record of 5,508 cases two days earlier.
This is not the time to be playing fast and loose with safety guidelines.
But since Brady moved to the Sunshine State, playing by the rules haven’t been on the top of his to-do list. In April, the former No. 12 was evicted from a Tampa park, which had been closed because of the virus. Brady had gone there to work out.
Yes, thanks to Brady’s recovery jammies and veggieintensive diet, it seems that the rules of aging don’t apply to him. But he isn’t exempt from the rules regarding behavior during a pandemic — for his sake and that of others.
Here’s the thing — if there’s one thing that Brady knows from all his years as a Patriot, it’s that fans, particularly youngsters, look up to him.
As the country struggles to get a grip on COVID-19, there are those who insist on defying restrictions, convinced that the virus is a hoax, or not that serious, even as the death toll hits 127,000+. And while older populations were considered most vulnerable several months ago, officials are now warning that COVID-19 is having a heightened impact on young people.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis noted that the median age of positive COVID-19 cases in March was 65 years old. But within the last week, it dropped to 35 years old.
“What we’ve seen, particularly over the last week, is a real explosion in new cases amongst our younger demographics,” DeSantis said in a news conference in Orlando earlier this week.
This is not the time to be flouting safety restrictions.
The season hasn’t even started, and you’ve fumbled, Tom.