Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill let the world know what he thinks about the NFL’s current policy when it comes to players getting vaccinated. After practice on Wednesday, a reporter asked Tannehill whether or not he was vaccinated.
The star QB replied that he was in the process of getting vaccinated. He then shared that he really didn’t want to get vaccinated; yet, due to the fact the NFL is twisting people’s arms to get vaccinated, he just fell in line.
According to the NFL’s protocols, all players who have not had a COVID-19 vaccination will be segregated from other vaccinated players. The new NFL rules declare that players can’t eat team meals, work out, or go outside of their hotel rooms if they are not vaccinated.
Separating platers from one another can really destroy team chemistry, so that’s why Tannehill decided to finally get vaccinated.
NFL Quarterback Ryan Tannehill says he only got vaccinated because of league pressure: “If you don’t fall in line, they’ll make your life miserable.” Good! Every company, business, venue, travel mode, destination, should make your life miserable until you fall in line. pic.twitter.com/fyzffdTXY5
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 29, 2021
The sad thing, though, is the NFL shouldn’t back NFL players into a corner where they are considered bad teammates for not getting vaccinated; that is wrong on so many levels. According to ESPN, over 90% of the Tennessee Titans are vaccinated; the high number is due to the fact most players feel as if their job will be on the line if they don’t get the jab.
Two Lions players stated the inconvenience the NFL puts on players who are unvaccinated is not practical, so that’s why they decided to get vaccinated
NFL Teams Are Now Using Colored Bracelets To Identify Vaccinated/Unvaccinated Players
The president of the NFLPA ripped NFL for mandating unvaccinated/vaccinated players wear colored bracelets which show their vaccination status. J.C. Tretter, who’s the NFLPA’s president and a member of the Cleveland Browns, slammed the idea that the NFL needs to identify vaccinated/unvaccinated players with colored bracelets.
Based on his yellow bracelet he is non vaccinated as per the Buccaneers
— Don Phillips (@DonDeuce46) July 26, 2021
As of right now, two teams have used bracelets for identifying vaccination status for NFL players; they are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Buccaneers, for example, are making vaccinated players use red bracelets and the unvaccinated players wear yellow bracelets.
History Shows Us Labeling People Is Not The Way To Go
To be honest, identifying unvaccinated people with a yellow bracelet is a bad look for the NFL. Some have even stated that there are similarities between the labeling process of the NFL and the Nazi protocols of labeling Jewish people with yellow stars.
The Nazi’s process of labeling the Jewish people with Yellow Stars was a way to discriminate and humiliate the Jewish people. The labels also made it easier for Nazis to send them to concentration camps where millions of Jewish people lost their lives.
We can’t compare the NFL’s policy of wearing bracelets to the horrors that happened in Nazi Germany; however, it appears the NFL is promoting the idea that makes unvaccinated individuals feel embarrassed and feel as if they are “bad teammates”.
