No more 3-pointers. No more home runs. No more sports. Games stopped because of the coronavirus. Officials have had to find ways to bring sports back safely. The NBA put basketball teams in one location, known as the bubble. MLB returned with new rules for baseball players. Now, it’s football’s turn.
There’s one month until the NFL season kicks off. Teams are already at training camps. Athletes, coaches, and other staff members are getting tested for the virus. They are keeping spaced apart as much as possible. Football players also had another option though. They could choose not to play at all in the 2020 season.
Players and officials agreed on this plan on July 24. The deal gave athletes until August 6 to opt out of the season. Now, that deadline has passed. The NFL said more than 60 players out of about 2,600 are choosing not to play. Some have health conditions that put them more at risk from the virus. Others just want to be careful for their families.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to take this option. On the field, he’s an offensive linesman for the Kansas City Chiefs. But off the field, he’s a doctor. Duvernay-Tardif has been caring for patients in his hometown of Montreal, Canada.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my life,” Duvernay-Tardif said. He explained that working in healthcare has given him “a different perspective on this pandemic.” Duvernay-Tardif said, “I cannot allow myself to potentially transmit the virus simply to play the sport that I love.”
Other players to opt out include Marquise Goodwin of the Philadelphia Eagles, Ja’Wuan James of the Denver Broncos, and Allen Hurns of the Miami Dolphins. The New England Patriots were most affected. Eight players chose not to take the field. Dont’a Hightower, Patrick Chung, and Marcus Cannon are all part of that group. They’ve each won three Super Bowls with the Patriots.
Still, most players are choosing to suit up. They include star quarterback Tom Brady. The former Patriot is starting the new season with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I know it’s a contact sport, and there are some things that are out of your control,” Brady said. “But that’s a pretty good lesson for life too. You don’t have everything in control in life either.”
The NFL season will start on September 10. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs will take on the Houston Texans. The season is sure to be stranger than usual. But the teams will work hard to make it as safe as possible.
Updated August 7, 2020, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Ashley Morgan
