New York, NY (OnFocus) – As originally reported on by Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports, the NFL has made it clear to teams that violating COVID-19 safety procedures will result in major consequences.
Forfeiting of games, in fact.
A week after the league threatened teams with the loss of draft picks for violating safety measures, the NFL announced that protocol breaks could cost teams wins.
The memo also outlines new measures intended to mitigate exposure at team facilities, including limits on free-agent tryouts, bans on team gatherings away from club facilities and video surveillance of facilities and team travel to monitor that protocols like wearing masks are followed.
“PROTOCOL VIOLATIONS THAT RESULT IN VIRUS SPREAD REQUIRING ADJUSTMENT TO THE SCHEDULE OR OTHERWISE IMPACTING OTHER TEAMS WILL RESULT IN ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL AND COMPETITIVE DISCIPLINE, INCLUDING THE ADJUSTMENT OR LOSS OF DRAFT CHOICES OR EVEN THE FORFEIT OF A GAME,” THE MEMO READS.
“SIMPLY PUT, COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY. NOW IS THE TIME TO RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO OUR PROTOCOLS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR THE DURATION OF THE SEASON.” – Memo from NFL to all teams
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
