The NFL has incentivized getting the COVID-19 vaccine — so why is a vocal minority still so hesitant?
CHICAGO — Ron Rivera remains agitated. “Beyond frustrated,” to use his exact words. A year after contracting squamous cell cancer and battling it into remission, the coach of the Washington Football Team is aware his compromised immune system could make him more vulnerable to COVID-19. Yet as training camp began this week, barely half of Rivera’s players were vaccinated, representing an extreme case of hesitancy in the NFL.
That resistance hasn’t sat well with the 59-year old coach, who became fully vaccinated earlier this year but remains cognizant of his health concerns and the risks that others around him might present.
“I hope we can get to these guys and get them to understand that really it’s not just for them but it’s for the people around them,” Rivera said Tuesday. “That’s the thing where I think hopefully we will get their attention — that this is not just for them but for the folks around them.”
A day later, Buffalo Bills receiver Cole Beasley sat down with reporters at training camp and attempted to explain at least one viewpoint on why some players continue running away from the opportunity to get vaccinated like it’s an angry defender on third down.
Beasley, who has become the megaphone on vaccine resistance in the NFL with a flurry of outspoken social media posts, read from a 403-word statement Wednesday.
“The issue at hand is information is being withheld from players in order for a player to be swayed in a direction he may not be comfortable with,” Beasley said. “When dealing with a player’s health and safety, there should be complete transparency regarding information that
