An NFL player who contacted PJ Media under the condition of anonymity tells a harrowing story about what is going on inside the league for unvaccinated players. He is speaking out because he wants to shed light on the NFL’s vaccination policy, saying that the league “has done its best to screw over its players as much as possible, as many private businesses/hospitals are doing across the country.”
The whistleblower went on to describe the immense pressure the NFL is putting on its unvaccinated players, and especially hopefuls, who don’t get any press coverage and are just trying to make it into the league.
“By the letter of the law, there is no vaccine mandate in the NFL amongst players (there is amongst coaches and support staff as a coach was fired for not being vaccinated earlier this year), and some players remain unvaccinated,” he said. “However, for all intents and purposes, there is a vaccine mandate for NFL players.”
He said that around 60% of the players are “minimum contract guys with little or no guaranteed money. Many of these guys can be cut at any point and are not entitled to any of the remaining compensation in their contracts.”
The whistleblower provided PJM with an NFL memo spelling out draconian rules for unvaccinated players, keeping them at a disadvantage when it comes to being picked up by teams. Rules include not allowing them to eat in the same room as vaccinated players and a ban on going outside the facility for dinner. The rules even keep them from having family or friends in their own homes.
Does this seem normal to you? @NFL draconian rules for unvaccinated players and hopefuls. #NFLWhistleblower Coming soon full report on @PJMedia_com pic.twitter.com/a51vDkn2IS
— Megan Fox 🦊 (@MeganFoxWriter) September 12, 2021
The whistleblower told PJ Media that unvaccinated players are not getting the same chance to be seen by teams during workouts and are at a severe disadvantage because of the harsh regulations.
Related: NFL Boots Unvaxxed Christian Singer From Singing Opening Day National Anthem
Unvaccinated free agents have a five-day waiting period before they’re allowed to work out with the team, while vaccinated free agents can work out immediately after a negative COVID test, he said. “In a business that changes daily, sometimes hourly, this effectively makes it impossible for any unvaccinated free agent to get a job unless, for some reason, the free agent was a star player, because a team would be willing to wait five days to have a star player.”
Did the NFL negotiate all this via a collectively bargained agreement (CBA) with the National Football League Players Association? The whistleblower says no.
“In addition to all of this, these rules were all agreed upon by a few select NFLPA members without the agreement of the rest of the union,” the whistleblower said. “I believe it should’ve been collectively bargained for/voted on as the new CBA in 2020 was. He said he would have voted “no” on such a contract—he would rather sign a waiver holding the NFL harmless if he dies from COVID “than abide by the stupid protocols and mandates that they have put in place to protect their image in the media. ”
He said he knows of others in the league who feel the same way.
According to Sportico, the NFLPA may be treading on legal thin ice.
It’s not clear if the NFLPA gained any benefits in exchange for these changes or how an unvaccinated player thought to be responsible for a paycheck-forfeiting outbreak would be treated by teammates. Teams have already begun to visually segregate unvaccinated players by making them wear yellow wristbands, while vaccinated players wear red…If a player refuses to reveal his vaccination status and is later punished for his reticence, the player could argue his privacy rights were violated. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Detroit Edison Co. v. NLRB, held that a bargained right to information can’t betray a union member’s legitimate interest in confidentiality.
The whistleblower told PJM that he and many others finally succumbed to the pressure of getting the jab, even though they felt they did not need it due to having recovered from COVID or because of medical concerns.
“The response for the vast majority of unvaccinated players has been to get vaccinated against their preference and better judgment,” he said. “I work out with several different NFL players during the offseason, and the vast majority of the group I work with would not have gotten vaccinated had the protocols been the same for someone who has antibodies from a prior infection as someone who is vaccinated.”
The source said that the NFL is not being honest about the amount of pressure it is putting on its players, as it is saying one thing privately and another in the press.
“There have been a couple interviews over the course of this preseason where NFL GMs [general managers] or coaches have stated that a player’s vaccination status could contribute to whether that player is cut or not,” he explained. “These coaches and GMs have typically recanted their statements or tried to paint them in a different light later, but everybody in the business knows the truth. The way the protocols are, there is a significant competitive advantage being vaccinated over being unvaccinated.”
Many critics have pointed out that all these rules feel a lot like security theater that is not really focused on safety or health but rather on the image of the government or organizations implementing them and their ability to control people within their grasp. The NFL whistleblower noticed a similar pattern.
He said that over the summer, many members of the training staff tried to coerce unvaccinated players to get the vaccine. “I eventually engaged in a conversation with one of the staff members about it, and the positives and negatives of the vaccine. The conclusion of our discussion basically yielded what I already knew: I didn’t need the vaccine to keep me safe. I needed to get it if I wanted the best chance to make the team with the upcoming protocols.”
The NFL could be the canary in the coal mine for what is coming for unvaccinated workers in America. Either get the jab against your will and judgment or suffer life-altering consequences.
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