The New England Patriots are not going to talk much about the COVID-19 vaccine. Despite my requests for data from Bill Belichick, the NFL and multiple Patriots spokespeople, the team is clearly unwilling to provide information on vaccination rates.
The NFL isn’t obligated to release data on which or how many players have received the vaccination. It’s possible we’ll learn who is and isn’t vaccinated, if players get sick and they have to follow different protocols, whether unvaccinated (with a 10-day quarantine) or vaccinated (with a path to a quicker return).
The Patriots’ decision to remove themselves from the conversation is on-brand with their football-first mentality. Because at this point, the science is clear: The COVID-19 vaccine is not dangerous, and it does save lives. Only three deaths have been attributed to the vaccine, while around 99% of deaths caused by coronavirus now occur in the unvaccinated. Simply put, the vaccine is safe. It works. The Patriots should be willing to say so. There is no controversy here.
Yet the Patriots did the strangest thing: I kicked off Mac Jones’ press conference by asking him if he was vaccinated and … the team edited out the exchange from their Youtube channel and website.
Here’s his answer, if you’re wondering:
“I think, just in terms of our team, everyone has a personal choice and we’re obviously trying to make the right decision to keep everyone protected, and we all want to play,” Jones said Thursday. “I think a lot of guys on our team are [vaccinated], and that’s a good thing. We’re going to keep moving forward. It’s made it a lot easier to go about the day. But, like I said, that’s a personal choice and it’s up to the players.”
From the quarterbacks and coaches, that’s actually the strongest sentiment we’ve heard from a Patriot. Jones didn’t confirm being vaccinated but he said it’s “a good thing” that players are vaccinated. It’s worth noting that at least one Patriot, James White, has disclosed that he is vaccinated.
Even Bill Belichick, who, by NFL rules, must be vaccinated at this point in order to be on the practice field (which he has been), would not confirm whether he’s been vaccinated — or provide any other information.
“Yeah, we’re not going to get into that,” Belichick said Wednesday.
Will Belichick disclose what percentage of the team is vaccinated this year?
“I don’t know,” he said. “Those are really medical questions.”
Is Belichick comfortable with where the team is in terms of vaccination at this point?
“I mean we’re here. We’re practicing. We’re going through our training camp routine and schedule,” Belichick said. “So that’s what we’re doing.”
By needlessly playing coy, it comes across as if the franchise might be anti-vax, even when we can all but confirm that some of these people are, in fact, vaccinated.
It’s not like the Patriots can end the conversation about vaccinations. Players and coaches may test positive. And they may have to step away from the team. With 90.3% of NFL players with at least one shot — a solid number when compared to 58.2%, the nation’s average — getting vaccinated, it’s hard to imagine teams having to forfeit games, but it’s possible, by the NFL’s rules in 2021. What is more likely is that we see some anti-vax stars miss games.
Like Belichick and Jones, Newton did not confirm whether he’d gotten vaccinated on Friday. Unlike Belichick and Jones, Newton is one of the few Patriots who take the field in a mask every day. On one hand, he could be vaccinated and deciding to take care of his unvaccinated teammates. On the other hand, he could have opted out of vaccination, which would put him in a more stern protocol, requiring him to wear a mask onto the field.
“I think it’s too personal for each and every person to kind of discuss it, and I’ll just keep it at that,” Newton said when asked if he was vaccinated.
Whether someone thinks it’s personal or not, it has societal implications. That’s why Public schools routinely require students to have certain vaccines before they can attend to prevent illness from spreading between students and teachers. We’ve reached that point with the coronavirus vaccine: Avoiding it — unless there are serious health concerns — is to willfully disregard the health of others. The supposed reasons for vaccine-hesitancy don’t stand up to scrutiny.
The Patriots’ avoidance of the discussion — and their sudden inability to give a straight answer on vaccination — is as bizarre and as it is tactless. New England had the opportunity to be a part of the solution during the COVID-19 pandemic. They opted out.
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