Wednesday, Sep 1, 2021. 11:17 AM
The NFL Players Association will investigate what Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said about the link between his players’ immunization status and club roster decisions.
AJNFL spokesman George Atallah confirmed the players’ union’s decision in an email to the Associated Press on Tuesday night. A few hours earlier, Meyer had said that “everyone has been evaluated. It’s part of the process, you have to discuss it and also say to yourself ‘is he vaccinated or not?’ Can we say that this is one of the things to take into account? This is certainly an aspect to be taken into account ”.
The Jaguars tried to clarify Meyer’s comments on Wednesday morning by way of a statement.
“Availability (of a player) is one of many factors to consider when making squad decisions,” the Florida team said. We have both vaccinated and unvaccinated players on our squad, and no player has been released due to their vaccination status.
“At the end of the day, decisions are made based on a player’s ability to help the Jaguars win. We educate our players and respect their personal decisions about vaccination. We want to make sure our players, staff and families are safe by adhering to game day health, safety and athletic protocols. “
The NFL has not imposed mandatory COVID-19 vaccination on its players, but has instituted strict protocols for players who are not adequately vaccinated.
Meyer notably discussed the case of defensive end Josh Allen, who missed a week of training because of protocols. Allen, who is not adequately vaccinated, left the list of players affected by COVID-19 on Monday.
“Josh has never been affected (by COVID-19),” said Meyer. He hasn’t played for two weeks. It was therefore not affected by COVID-19. I don’t know if I can comment on this, but it has never been affected by COVID-19. It is therefore quite severe. “
The New England Patriots have released quarterback Cam Newton, the NFL’s MVP in 2015, to offer the starting quarterback to rookie Mac Jones. Newton is not vaccinated against COVID-19, and he missed training last week because of health protocols.
