As “COVID Summer” continues, American sports are trying to navigate their respective comebacks in safe environments. NASCAR is back, with regular testing. The NBA has begun it’s bubble preparation, MLS the same. The NWSL has been playing games without fans. The NFL, who has lucked into not having to change too much of their year, is now beginning to make their first changes. They canceled some preseason games, which alerted some… but on Thursday the NFL brought down the safety hammer: the cancellation of the post-game NFL Jersey Swap.
For those unfamiliar, the NFL Jersey Swap has become a postgame tradition. NFL players swap jerseys with players on other teams that are friends, idols, mentors, former teammates, or whomever from the team they just played. It offers a nice “photo opp” and adds collegiality akin to a college rugby match: “Sure we just ran into each other a bunch of times, but now let’s be happy together.”
In an era of social distancing, the NFL Jersey Swap clearly violates one key safety precaution: to swap jerseys, you HAVE to be within six feet of one another. Jersey swapping allows for lots of danger.
Every jersey swap starts with a dap. And this isn’t a “give me a fist bump” kind of dap. Jersey swaps necessitate the “high-five to a handshake to a hug” kind of dap. The NFL has to cut out that close, physical contact because it could lead to the spread of Coronavirus.
And that is the last thing these guys need. After an entertaining afternoon of football with battling in the trenches, fighting through press coverage, and scraping through tackles for extra yards, it wouldn’t make any sense to have some team have to shut down or pause their season because of a photo opp. The NFL is clearly valuing player safety over aesthetics and should be commended for it.
The science of transmitting the disease through bodily fluids or surfaces is something that doctors are still working on understanding. Think of a high-definition clip of your favorite huge hit in an NFL game. Think 265 lbs. linebacker running full speed through a 330 lbs. lineman before tackling a 215 lbs. running back to the ground. In that singular interaction, there would be a lot of sweat being soaked into jerseys. That makes the jerseys potential carriers… and handing of the jerseys would amount to, potentially, handing over Petri dishes of germs.
Swapping jerseys covered in sweat, spit, and blood could transmit the disease. It would be horrifying to think that a glorified grass-stained tee shirt carrying the virus is the reason a team or player gets sick and has to hit pause on the season. Further, COVID-19 has potential and serious long term health implications. Some science has indicated that even asymptomatic carriers could face potential long term lung damage. For an NFL player, being able to breathe at your best capacity is vital as you’re running through arm tackles, working through down blocks on the goal line, or fighting in a scrum for a fumbled football.
The truth is, the NFL admitting the players ought to maintain six feet of separation is vital. It’s the first step in being sure that the players are safely able to collide at full speed all over the field this fall. Some players have had issues with the sentiment… Most notably Richard Sherman and Deshaun Watson. But if the NFL has shown anything, it’s that they’re historically a league with the utmost concern for player safety. So why would players be upset? The NFL will do what is in the best interest of the players playing, as opposed to some sort of diversion tactic. The league would never divulge into so much fraud.
