The Giants have a crucial training camp starting today ahead of the 2021 season. And HC Joe Judge is not taking sides for the vaccine but has a clear message for his players heading into camp.
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The NFL is expected to have NFL games at full capacity. While the NFL can’t control fans and external forces, they can control their teams and players. Therefore, they released a memo dictating what could happen if players don’t vaccinate themselves.
Last year, the NFL repeatedly had to reschedule games due to Covid outbreaks within teams, but this is something they won’t be doing this year. As a result, the team responsible for the Covid outbreak may have to forfeit the game entirely.
Here’s more from today’s memo, which also says the team responsible for a canceled game because of an outbreak among unvaccinated players/staff will be responsible for financial losses and subject to potential discipline from the commissioner. Wow. pic.twitter.com/Q86a2WcG1K
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 22, 2021
Joe Judge said that it will be easier if the players are vaccinated.
“I chose to never take a side,” Joe Judge said, via Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com. “And everybody has different opinions and beliefs and whatever they want to say. But my thing has been the entire time: I’m not going to take a side. The league and union have an agreement in terms of what the players’ choices are and it’s my job as a coach to inform everyone of all the information. When the players make their choice to enforce protocols if they choose not to be vaccinated, and that’s kinda just been it.”
“We’re very honest with our players, and talk to them all the time. We just make sure they understand the reality is that it’s going to be tougher living if you’re not vaccinated.”
The Giants have still not hit the 85% mark of vaccinations to avail the relaxation of NFL safety protocols. Additionally, for players at the back end of the roster, it will be easier and more practical for teams to keep players that are vaccinated over ones that are not.
78% of the players in the @NFL have had at least one vaccine.
14 teams have met the criteria of having at least 85% players vaccinated.
Great news as players report to training camp.#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/sqS2ze2Qor
— Sportskeeda Pro Football (@SKProFootball) July 22, 2021
“You gotta be disciplined and follow all the protocols because it does affect the team and it affects the potential of what we can do,” Judge said. “So we just gotta make sure we’re disciplined and go through with it. In terms of the whole thing navigating this: To stand in a room with people of such diverse backgrounds, this isn’t a topic where I need to have a side. It’s just: You have a decision they’ve afforded you to make, here’s the information and whatever decision you make you have to live with it.”
“All I can tell them is: Listen, I can tell you what day to day is going to be like and what the length of the season is going to be like and beyond that, the medical part has to stay up to the doctors,” Judge said.
