Like the rest of society, vaccines and coronavirus will once again be a focal point of the upcoming NFL season. And while some in the league have hidden behind a misunderstanding of HIPAA and the phrase “personal choice” when refusing to discuss whether they’ve been vaccinated or not, one NFL coach is not afraid to criticize those spreading misinformation about coronavirus and its deadly impact on the world.
While some athletes like Buffalo Bills wideout Cole Beasley simply feel you must be stronger than the highly contagious and deadly disease that can lead to serious health complications, even in the young, Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera is a much different case. Currently battling cancer, Rivera is at much higher risk that some who may not have taken getting protection against COVID-19 as seriously as the 59-year-old head coach has.
On Monday, Rivera lamented that lax attitude he’s seen among others in the league and expressed frustration for one unnamed news outlet about its willingness to spread misinformation that’s harming the nation’s ability to get people vaccinated and closer to the pandemic’s end. As Sports Illustrated detailed, Rivera is furious that he’s seeing vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories putting his and others’ health at risk in a very real way.
“I had a player come to me when we first got back and we’re getting ready to go to camp,” Rivera said. “He came to me, and he had a big smile and said, Hey coach, just got my second vaccine. I said, Right on. He said, Had to, mama, new baby, got to, coach, gotta be careful for others. I said, That’s great, plus with that variant … He looked at me and said, What variant? I said, You know, the new delta variant, you know about that?”
The player in question had no idea. Rivera asked if the player watches the news. The player said no, and raised his phone to say, “I get all my information from here.” Which, right there in the moment, Rivera recognized as the problem.
“Gen Z is relying on this,” said Rivera, now holding up his phone. “And you got some, quite frankly, f—— a——-, that are putting a bunch of misinformation out there, leading people to die. That’s frustrating to me, that these people are allowed to have a platform. And then, one specific news agency, every time they have someone on, I’m not a doctor, but the vaccines don’t work. Or, I’m not an epidemiologist, but vaccines are going to give you a third nipple and make you sterile. Come on. That, to me? That should not be allowed.”
Rivera’s full discussion of healthcare in America is revealing: he expressed frustration that he was initially denied a treatment for his cancer and called out the wide gulf in healthcare benefits in the country despite it being the richest in the world. It’s an astute point, and a conclusion he’s reached after his own struggles in what’s an increasingly broken marketplace. But it’s also one that, unlike many concluding that the vaccine isn’t for them, also weighs what’s best for everyone in wider society, not just himself.
[via SI]
