Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson and others rip NFL over lack of clarity ahead of season
Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, Seahawks' Russell Wilson, Saints' Drew Brees were among several NFL players to call out the league about player safety this week.
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With the league yet to finalise the NFL player safety protocol ahead of the coronavirus-marred 2020 season, players took to social media to call out the league and commissioner Roger Goodell over the lack of clarity ahead of the season. The likes of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees and Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson led NFL players' unified message, expressing their concerns and anger over the lack of COVID-19 safety protocols.
The NFL confirmed its training camp schedule despite not having finalised the safety protocols. Rookies will be required to report at team training facilities by July 21 while the rest of the roster should be back at the camp latest by July 28. Per reports, it was Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones' idea to tweet out messages to the league in order to publicly declare their willingness to play but not until the league confirms the safety protocols.
Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees showcase unified front while calling out the NFL
Patrick Mahomes tweeted out the hashtag '#WeWantToPlay,' while stating he hopes the league comes to an agreement over the protocols by the time the players report to the training camps.
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Getting ready to report this week hoping the @NFL will come to agreement with the safe and right protocols so we can feel protected playing the sport we love #WeWantToPlay
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) July 19, 2020
Meanwhile, Drew Brees suggested there is a real possibility of having no NFL in 2020, with the league constantly delaying upon an agreement.
We need Football! We need sports! We need hope! The NFL’s unwillingness to follow the recommendations of their own medical experts will prevent that. If the NFL doesn’t do their part to keep players healthy there is no football in 2020. It’s that simple. Get it done @NFL
— Drew Brees (@drewbrees) July 19, 2020
Quarterback Russell Wilson's main concern centred around the safety of his wife, Ciara's pregnancy.
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I am concerned.
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) July 19, 2020
My wife is pregnant.@NFL Training camp is about to start..
And there’s still No Clear Plan on Player Health & Family Safety. 🤷🏾
We want to play football but we also want to protect our loved ones. #WeWantToPlay
Houston Texans' DE JJ Watt highlighted a number of issues that need to be addressed in order to safely flag off the 2020 season. The frequency of player testing and the plan of action if a player tests positive for COVID-19, were some of the issues mentioned in Watt's tweet.
Once again in the interest of keeping everyone (players & fans) as informed as possible, here is an updated list of what we as players know and don’t know as the first group gets set to report to training camp tomorrow.#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/xQcjs33zgM
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 19, 2020
Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas drew comparisons between NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Silver was widely praised by experts for his quick thinking when he suspended the season after its first positive test. Silver and the NBA owners were also quick to agree upon the health and safety protocols.
Several other NFL players joined the "We Want To Play' campaign on social media:
If Adam Silver can respect the voices and protect his NBA players why can’t @NFLcommish do the same? Listen to your players.
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) July 19, 2020
Do y’all want to see this??
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) July 19, 2020
Before players can go back to work the @NFL needs to address the health and safety concerns from their own experts so we can remain healthy. If you want the @AZCardinals to have a full season this year help us by telling the @NFL! #WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/CErsyZJb1A
We all want to play this season, but we need to stay safe in order to actually have a season! It’s time for the @NFL to step up and do their part so that us players can be safe at work and go play the game we love! #WeWantToPlay
— Carson Wentz (@cj_wentz) July 19, 2020
If the NFL doesn’t do their part to keep players healthy there is no football in 2020. It’s that simple. #WeWantToPlay
— Myles Garrett ⚡️ (@MylesLGarrett) July 19, 2020
You want to watch football this year? Us players need to remain healthy in order to make that happen. The @NFL needs to do their part in order to bring football back safely in 2020. #WeWantToPlay
— Todd Gurley II (@TG3II) July 19, 2020
This is how I feed my family, yet WE don’t even know the plan to proceed with the season @NFL
— Trai Turner (@trai_turner) July 19, 2020
$afety first
Make it Make sense #WeWantToPlay
I want to play ball this year! But we are going to need the @NFL to make sure they are listening to everyone and taking the steps for the players and their families to be safe! #WeWantToPlay
— Derek Carr (@derekcarrqb) July 19, 2020
This is the ultimate safety and fairness issue that anyone can imagine. To be clear, we want to play. But, we also want to protect ourselves and our families. As players, we take health risk in this game everyday. But we’ve never imagine having to take those risk to our families.
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) July 19, 2020
It blows my mind that the NFL is unwilling to follow the recommendations of their own experts regarding player health and safety. If we want to have a FULL season this year we need the NFL to listen to their experts! #WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/q55RpqRzPu
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) July 19, 2020
Last week, the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) executive committee reportedly held a conference call with close to 50 of the league's high-profile players in order to address where things stand ahead of the start of the training camps. According to ESPN, the NFLPA failed to answer the simplest of questions during the conference call. This could have spurred the players to take matters in their own hand.
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