NFL Suspending COVID Protocols; Dallas Mavs, NBA Next?
The NFL is attempting to put the COVID-19 crisis behind it, as on Thursday comes a report from NFL.com that the league and the NFLPA have agreed to "suspend all aspects of the joint COVID protocols.''
The move is "effective immediately,'' Tom Pelissero writes, adding, "No more masks, tracking devices, mandatory surveillance testing or capacity limits, unless required by state and local law.''
Could the NBA be next to follow suit? Many teams — especially the Dallas Mavericks — have been majorly impacted by COVID protocols over the last two years with many players being sidelined for two weeks or more. One of the more frustrating aspects for players has been when they have to miss time even though they’re asymptomatic.
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The Mavs have already taken their own step towards what the NFL is doing by releasing this PR statement today:
“In accordance with CDC guidelines and Dallas County community levels, the Dallas Mavericks announce an update to the COVID-19 protocol for games at American Airlines Center – face masks are no longer required for fans in attendance. The change in policy is effective immediately with tonight’s game against Golden State.”
In December, many NFL players vocally expressed the sentiment to the NFLPA that there should be major changes in the rules.But also in December came yet another league-wide COVID-19 outbreak. Over 100 players were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of Week 15.
Three teams in particular - the Cleveland Browns, the Washington Football Team and the eventual-champ Los Angeles Rams - each had at east 20 players on that list. That again began fueling the argument that their games should have been postponed, just as the NFL had over the course of two seasons of COVID protocol rules (and changing rules) had done before.
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The league, late in the 2021 season, already altered protocols to allow vaccinated, asymptomatic players to return to action after one negative COVID-19 test. But then came a growing number of new positive tests around the league - and a growing debate.
Pelissero writes, "After nearly two years of restrictions - and not a single game lost to the pandemic - it's finally back to normal. Finally.''
In addition to some players pushing for change, Tampa Bay Bucs coach Bruce Arians was among those who were pushing for more lax protocols. It was his position that players who are asymptomatic should be allowed to play. The latest NFL decision reflects that thinking… and we’ll be keeping an eye on the rest of NBA to see if it will follow that same line of thinking.
