Why Rivera is So Angry Right Now
You may have heard that Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera is a little bit upset right now. Not because of how his team is performing on the field. He is mostly mad at the team’s low COVID-19 vaccination rate. The NFL head coach voiced his frustration during a press conference in late July of 2021 about this issue. It was reported that Washington had the lowest rate in the league at roughly 60%. This was the lowest in the NFL at that time. The same article also stated this was just barely above the national average of 57.1%.
Rivera may have sounded like he was overreacting a little. He had a pretty good reason he responded the way he did. ESPN reported less than a year ago that Rivera had been diagnosed with cancer. He coached all the way through his treatment of the life-threatening disease. The coach is thankfully in remission at this point. That does not mean he is out of the woods though.
Cancer happens to be an auto-immune disease. This means that he and any others that have this type of disease are more likely to contract COVID-19. Now you can see why he is so adamant about the entire NFL getting the vaccine.
The Reasons Ron Rivera’s Players are Hesitant to Get Vaccinated
Ron Rivera may have some sound reasons for him wanting at least his team to be fully vaccinated. His players, however, have a few reservations of their own about this specific treatment. Some may not like getting shots because they do not like putting a foreign substance in their body. Their bodies are their primary source of income. Some players may not like putting substances into them for fear of it affecting their performance. Others fear failing a performance-enhancing drug test. This would guarantee they will miss some games.
Some players may object to those for other reasons. They were told earlier if they got the vaccine they would not need to be tested as often. The players were also informed there would be no punishment if they tested positive for the disease in the future if they did so. That has certainly changed. The NFL sent out a statement saying that games could be forfeited under certain circumstances related to COVOD-19. Rivera recently sounded off on this misinformation. These contradictions are not helping him convince his players to get the vaccine,
How Rivera Has Responded
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Rivera has voiced a lot of his frustrations about the current COVID-19 situation with his team and the NFL. There is not a lot he can do about the league’s stance on this though. The league must always put the safety of its players above all other issues. Even though the NFL has not always done this in the past. Take a look at the misogyny in the league since its creation over a century ago. He can however do something about this to his team.
Wahington has made some drastic improvements to its vaccination rate recently. Those have risen to 84% of players according to team sources. That may be too little too late for Rivera though. The team rested its players less often than most other teams in the NFL during their week one preseason game. Was this a message to his team about their hesitancy to get the vaccine? Maybe it was just a coincidence that it played out like this. I personally believe it was the coach’s way of punishing his players for their resistance to getting the shot earlier. However, it just so happens that I am a lover of a good conspiracy theory. I may be a little bit biased on this one so do not take my word as truth by any means.
Closing Thoughts
This article was published on the Belly Up Sports website and specifically its NFL page. Belly Up Sports also has a Twitter page where you can interact with the network. I also have written for this outlet before so see my most recent story if you would like. If you would like to talk to me directly, feel free to chat with me on my Twitter as well. Try to keep it clean and proper. If you are incapable of doing so, ignore that completely and battle it out with me. Just a few warnings for those who dare challenge me. I am highly competitive and hate to admit when I am wrong. So be prepared for a war of words.
