Hapless Bills Fan

No, it's quite bad in either case. However, you're at minimum, from readily available data, at least 50x more likely to contract cardiomyopathy from natural covid infection if you're a healthy young athletic stud, than from the vaccine if youre under 30. If you're interested, I'll PM you my calculations and you can check them then we can discuss; we won't be discussing in here.

The issue here is not compulsory vax, this really should be clear by now. The vaccine is not mandatory for players.

OK, I can see that, from your POV. My point is that he's very publicly creating a horrid dilemma for his coaches and GMs, by announcing that he will neither be vaccinated nor follow the NFL/NFLPA protocols for non-vaccinated players. He's kind of throwing his team's NFLPA reps (and the NFLPA in general) under the bus as collateral damage, and of course, potentially putting other non-vaccinated teammates at risk if one believes that the protocols were a best-practice to protect everyone from contagious disease. I don't think it's OK to choose a path of personal freedom that carries so much collateral damage, but YMMV.

Dingdingdingding

1) the issue isn't Cole not wanting to be vaccinated - you do understand that, yes? It's beyond the scope here, but one can look at the number of people who have been vaccinated and the side effects and see that the former is large and the latter is small. Those data are publicly available, you know that, yes? 2) The issue for the NFL isn't survival, it's availability during the season. It's potentially spreading a contagious disease to others rendering them unavailable. You do understand that, yes? When the concern is availability, survival is perhaps not the best metric for a disease that some people (including young people) take weeks or months to recover from? 3) Because Covid is an airborne contagious disease, the issue isn't responsibility if Cole is infected, the issue is contagious spread to others, can we see that?

I mean, it's not impossible that he's an idiot, but usually when people don't understand something like labor laws or the Constitution and how it's been interpreted for >100 years with regard to vaccination, it's not because they're idiots, it's because they're uninformed or misinformed. I guess you could argue that mouthing off about something without informing yourself carefully first is a form of idiocy, but it seems like something else to me - poor impulse control? immaturity?

If you listen, could you provide a synopsis? Thanks

I mean, probably not? I don't think you can be an idiot or stupid, and be as creative and sharp at football as Cole Beasley evidently is. At the level he plays, it's not a game for stupid people, at all. I deal with people who have (apparently) similar viewpoints all the time around here. Most of them are quite intelligent. They're just operating from a very different set of assumptions than I am. Sometimes we can sit down and talk and I can figure out what their basis beliefs are, and explain what my basis beliefs are, and we can have a good convo. I guess I would say Bease may be kind of immature and/or privileged, since most of us by this time in our lives have had to process that sometimes we have to work with restrictions we don't like, or leave, and that if we want a third option having a public meltdown is not the best way to achieve it.

Ha! Notable that Brandon Powell announced he's been vaxxed.

FIFY

The timing on that tweet was this am, 9:51 am. Cole posted his "I won't follow the rules" manifesto this afternoon, 2:33 pm. So evidently his "working through it" didn't work out to his satisfaction.

I would have thought it was ineffective as a first step, because people usually become entrenched if you piss on them publicly. And Beasley himself started out saying he hadn't discussed his concerns with the NFLPA But whaddo I know? Can you tell us about other NFLPA issues that got resolved after creating a stink on social media?

Well Said! I can understand looking at those protocols and thinking "WTeverlasting*****?" But I've been faced with regulations on the job that I didn't agree with. I rolled up my sleeves, I collected my arguments, and I went to work through the appropriate chain of command. I succeeded in having some modified, I didn't succeed with others. I didn't have a public meltdown. That's like Middle School Drama Llama Town. Can you take one for the team and give us the synopsis so I don't have to listen? I don't have a spare keyboard and I'm afraid for the life of mine if I do.

On that last, I guess we'll find out, but I've never managed a successful team of people where someone had that viewpoint and was allowed to get away with it. On the former, what is someone forcing Beasley to do with his health? He doesn't have to get vaccinated. The problem he's having is that he doesn't want to get vaccinated, AND he doesn't want to follow the rules for not being vaccinated.

People have explained the problem to you several times. At this point, you're either trolling or you're not reading carefully. Slow down and process, please. It really shouldn't be. The NFL and the NFLPA are supposed to have provided educational materials answering questions like this for the players.

No. He hasn't. As others have explained to you - sure, he can retire. But he doesn't get to decide he doesn't want to wear thigh pads, or a helmet, or line up behind the imaginary line of scrimmage and still play football. And it's highly un-process, un-team-like behavior to insist that he will look at 3 options (vaccinate; don't vaccinate and follow protocols; retire) and choose a 4th. It's putting McDermott and Beane in a very tough spot.

To be fair to Cole Beasley, he's not deciding to not be vaccinated out of laziness but because he apparently believes in God's Will and that it's preferable to get infected with an illness that has much higher rates of persistent side effects than the vaccine, even for asymptomatic or mildly ill people. That is his right. Otherwise, agree, he's trying to force a 4th option. Interesting times.

I could be wrong, but don't think anyone here would have a problem with Cole Beasley announcing he will retire because he doesn't wish to be vaccinated or to follow the rules. I would regret it, because I think he is an AWESOME player and tough as nails. It's saying "I want to play, but I won't follow the rules, just fine me" that is the problem. You can't have a team where everyone gets to decide what rules they will or won't follow.

Then he can retire and go find other pursuits to follow. From what he said, he's financially independent and that is his choice. But jobs come with rules. You don't get to have a job, and thumb your nose at its rules.

I think YOU didn't read his message. It's not Beasley being unvaccinated that is the problem. The NFLPA fought for, and won, the right for vaccines to be optional for players. BUT, along with that, there are protocols for unvaccinated players. Beasley is saying he doesn't want to be vaccinated AND he doesn't want to follow the protocols. THAT'S the problem. The NFL and NFLPA played safely last year with relatively few infections because they implemented and mostly followed a set of strict protocols. The NFL was one of the safest places in the country to be, regarding Covid-19 infection, right up their with Cornell University.

I guess we may find out, but the Bills really don't want Bease on the Commissioner's Exempt List; that would mean he can't play but they still have to pay him.

Excellent question to ask their NFLPA reps! My guess would be that the concern is for game availability of unvaccinated teammates and for them spreading asymptomatic infections to vaccinated teammates (causing them to test positive and miss time). The protocols seem designed to protect unvaccinated players from community or facility acquired infections. But that's just a guess.

There is plenty of information out there about vaccination effectiveness. None of the current vaccines are 100% effective against the original Covid strain and less against the variants. Here is a well-referenced a link for you: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/15/the-covid-delta-variant-how-effective-are-the-vaccines Further discussion of vaccine effectiveness will be zapped.

Sir, I respect your views and respect you as a poster here, but you have odd-ass notions of entertainment. That is all.

I'm sure there is boilerplate language in the contracts agreeing to abide by the CBA and any additional rules agreed to by the NFL/NFLPA. There's a process, the NFL didn't just impose these protocols, the NFLPA (his reps) had a chance to discuss and negotiate.