Newsletter

Mattison angry after coach dismissal

Getty

Alexander Mattison of the Minnestoa Vikings

After refusing the Covid-19 vaccine, the assistant coach of the Minnesota Vikings, Rick Dennison, was separated by the team, reported ESPN’s Courtney Cronin on Friday.

Dennison, the Vikings offensive linemen and running offense coach for the past two years, is believed to be the first coach removed from his position by his team after refusing to be vaccinated. This followed the announcement that the NFL will apply severe penalties during the upcoming season if there is a Covid-19 outbreak.

Running back Alexander Mattison expressed frustration with the decision to separate Dennison from his post, defending his coach on Twitter last Friday.

Mattison: “It doesn’t make sense.”

Mattison responded to the SportsCenter tweet, which reported the Dennison situation, with a strong message in support of his coach.

https://t.co/dNoiV7ZVmx

Mattison’s response sparked controversy on social media as the message of support for his coach quickly turned to suspicion that he will not agree to be vaccinated for the upcoming season.

What is at stake

While Dennison has not been formally fired by the Vikings, Minnesota has already promoted offensive linemen coach Phil Rauscher to Dennison’s job. The Vikings have also signed Ben Steele, who had recently been signed by Auburn University.

The decision was made due to guidelines imposed by the NFL that would have prevented Dennison from having contact with the players. All top-level personnel must be vaccinated – this includes coaches, managers, props and scouts, per NFL guidelines. Players are not required to receive the vaccine, but will be subject to strict protocols during training and the season, unlike vaccinated players.

The decision to get vaccinated or not has generated a conflict, as it could impact the performance of the players and their relationship with the team.

Coach Mike Zimmer detailed the differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated players this season.

Those not vaccinated will have to wear a mask, they will have to respect social distances, and they will be tested every day. They will not be able to go home during the bye week and will have to come in every day to be tested, ”Zimmer said in a press conference in June. “When we play visitors, they won’t be able to go out to dinner with anyone. They will have to travel in different buses and planes… and many of the meetings they have will be virtual.

The new Vikings player, the cornerback Patrick Peterson, described the differences as “living in a different world” than the rest of the team. More than 78% of players across the league have received at least one dose, and there are fourteen teams with at least 85% of their players vaccinated. All teams have at least 50% of their players vaccinated, according to NFL.com.

The recent bid by players to receive the vaccine stems from the news that if there were an outbreak, teams could be punished with lost matches as the NFL will not be flexible in rescheduling games this season. Peterson does not hesitate to get vaccinated when there is a risk of missing a game due to close contact or a possible false positive in a test.

“If you are not vaccinated then you are living in a world apart. Why risk going through that again? Everyone has their opinion about the vaccine, “Peterson said on the podcast. All Things Covered. “But if we are all trying to win a championship, and if the vaccine affects only a small percentage of people, why not do our best to have a chance to fight for a title if that is what we want?

Interestingly, Mattison participated in a commercial in his native California to encourage residents to get the vaccine.

https://twitter.com/CoopCarlson/status/1418680164419047427

Some fans took Mattison’s message about Dennison’s departure as an indication that he was not going to get vaccinated. However, his words referred more than anything to the right of people to choose.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveNotHate?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Follow Now Same on Instagram

READ MORE: REPORT: Aaron Rodgers Has Decided His Future With The Packers – Will He Leave?

This is the original version of Heavy.com por Trevor Squire


.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending