The NFL is suffering from many players out due to Covid, games being postponed and a host of other issues. Their response --- change the Covid rules so they can play the games. All driven by the money - of course.
NFL legend Steve Young: The league is tweaking COVID-19 policies so that 'asymptomatic players can play’
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-covid-rules-steve-young-191947848.html
Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the NFL hasn’t wavered from its plan to play all scheduled games within the originally planned 18-week season and playoffs.
In the past week alone, the NFL has postponed games to help players return from COVID-19 protocol and is now trying to prevent some players from entering the COVID-19 reserve list entirely.
On Saturday, the NFL
changed its testing protocol to decrease the number of times vaccinated players are tested as long as they remain asymptomatic. Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young said the league’s message is clear: The NFL will press forward amid the COVID surge, even if that means allowing asymptomatic players to play in games regardless of their infection status.
"They’re going to try to figure out a way to make sure that asymptomatic players can play, and this is their solution,” Young said on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “And people can argue and curse and do everything they want about it, but the fact is the NFL has been amazing in getting people on the field and playing football throughout the pandemic.”
The NFL recently adjusted its policies after having more than 100 players test positive prior to its most recent slate of weekend games.
The slew of positive tests forced three games to be moved to weekdays due to a lack of player availability among three teams. As of Monday evening, the NFL had more than 150 players on the COVID-19 reserve list.
The NFL is "in a unique spot where they don’t have to really answer to anybody,” Young said. “It's the most inelastic business in America where the demand is constant and ever present. And no matter what happens, the demand will be there. And so in that inelasticity, the NFL has a tremendous amount of flexibility. They want to stay on schedule. They want to make sure they put the games on."
Other American sports leagues are also adjusting amid the
recent surge: The
National Hockey League (NHL) extended its Christmas break by two days as more than 15% of the league's players have been added to COVID-19 protocol. It also
tweaked its testing rules to administer tests daily and has now postponed 50 games less than halfway through the season.
The National Basketball Association (NBA), meanwhile, has positioned itself more similarly to the NFL. The basketball league has postponed seven games since Dec. 14, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN Tuesday night that the league has
‘no plans’ to pause the season.
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