The Morning Column: September 2, 2021
In the eyes of the NFL, unlike last season, we’re dealing with a preventable pandemic and there’s no reason a team should not be ready to play every week this season.
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1. 🏈 The NFL’s slippery vaccination slope
When Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said he and general manager Trent Baalke considered a player’s vaccination status when making final roster cuts, the NFL Players Association was so outraged it opened an investigation.
What exactly are they investigating?
Meyer simply said what is a fact in the NFL and will soon become commonplace in all sports. Your vaccination status is not only considered but is essentially a prerequisite to step into a locker room. Whether you agree or not, it’s going to be hard for a team to justify putting an unvaccinated reserve player in close contact with vaccinated starters.
The NFL has told teams they are not allowed to cut a player solely based on vaccination status but it’s a disingenuous warning after the four-page memo NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent out to clubs in July, which singled out non-vaccinated players and several times.
Among the highlights of the memo:
- “If a game cannot be rescheduled within the current 18-week schedule and is cancelled due to a Covid outbreak among non-vaccinated players on one of the competing teams, the club with the outbreak will forfeit the contest and be responsible for lost payment.”
- “If a game is rescheduled due to a Covid outbreak among unvaccinated players on one of the competing teams, the club experiencing the outbreak will be responsible for all additional expenses incurred by the opposing team.”
- “If a game is cancelled and cannot be reschedule within the current 18-week schedule due to a Covid outbreak, neither team’s players will receive their weekly salary.”
- “If a game is cancelled because of a Covid outbreak among unvaccinated players, in addition to the financial penalties, the Commissioner retains the authority to impose addition sanctions.”
The NFL is telling teams they can’t require players to take the vaccine and can’t cut players who aren’t vaccinated but reserve the right to impose the harshest punishments possible if those unvaccinated players become a problem.
Um, OK.
Think about the stakes involved here. You’re talking about teams with unvaccinated players looking at forfeits, being financial responsible for all the costs of postponed or canceled games, and possibly facing further discipline from the commissioner, which could mean anything from more steep fines to the loss of draft picks.
No coach, general manager or owner could possibly read that memo and not consider vaccination status when putting together their team’s roster. Is keeping an unvaccinated backup quarterback over a vaccinated backup quarterback, for example, really worth a potential forfeit, losing millions and possibly more? You’re crazy if you don’t think all of this is being discussed by teams.
Outside of historically harsh penalties, it also comes down to simple availability when looking at players to keep, sign or cut. Whereas vaccinated players who test positive and are asymptomatic can return to the team after two negative tests 24 hours apart, unvaccinated players are still subjected to the mandatory 10-day isolation period they were last year and could be looking at missing at least two games.
In the eyes of the NFL, unlike last season, we’re dealing with a preventable pandemic and there’s no reason a team should not be ready to play every week this season.
“Every club is obligated under the Constitution and Bylaws to have its team ready to play at the scheduled time and place,” the NFL stated in the memo. “A failure to do so is deemed conduct detrimental. There is no right to postpone a game.”
2. ⚾️ Dodgers finally back in first place
For the first time since April 25, the Dodgers are in first place in the National League West after defeating the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, on the same night the Giants lost to the Brewers, 5-2. The Dodgers are off today after playing 22 games in 23 days and going 18-4 during that stretch. Meanwhile, the Giants have lost a season-high four straight games and are now in second place after being atop the West for 108 days, their longest stretch in first place since moving to San Francisco. The Dodgers will now look to extend their lead this weekend when they travel to San Francisco for a three-game series with the Giants beginning Friday.
3. 💰 NIL law effective in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a lot on his plate right now with the recall vote but he found time to sign into a law a bill moving up the effective date of the NIL law to Sept. 1, 2021. It’s a big move heading into the first college football Saturday of the season in California, which was the first state to pass the name, image and likeness law. College athletes will now be allowed to sign paid endorsement deals.
USC quarterback Kedon Slovis recently signed with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group, the agency that represents Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and could be in line to make millions if he and USC have a big season. ESPN reported Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers is already scheduled to make $1.4 million on NIL deals going into the Buckeyes’ season-opener tonight against Minnesota.
4. 🏠 Mark Davis’ Raiders mansion
Over the past year, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis has opened a new $2 billion silver and black stadium for the Raiders, a new $75 million silver and back training facility for his team and now he’s building a new $14 million silver and black mansion for himself. The 15,000 square foot, three-story house, which looks like a miniature version of the training facility, will have a 5,422-square-foot garage area, library and “man cave,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
5. 💵 Odds and Ends Powered by Bovada
Here are some odds on Bovada if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
6. 📆 Sept. 2, 1965: Los Angeles Angels become California Angels
On this day 56 years ago, the Los Angeles Angels changed their name to the California Angels. At the time, the Angels were playing at Dodger Stadium as a tenant of the Dodgers but were planning to move to Anaheim in 1966. When the California Angels moved into the brand-new Angel Stadium, they were just the second MLB team to be named after an entire state despite the fact that California was already the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants and would soon be adding the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres.
7. 🎂 Happy Birthday Tommy Maddox
Happy birthday to Tommy Maddox. The former UCLA quarterback is turning 49 today. Maddox was the Bruins quarterback at UCLA for two seasons (1990-1991) before being selected in the first round by the Denver Broncos. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1994. Maddux took a hiatus from football for a few years (1997-2000) before enjoying a renaissance in 2001 when he joined the Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL and led them to the league’s only championship and was named the MVP. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the season and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2002 and won a Super Bowl with the Steelers in 2006.
8. 🎟 Ticket Time Powered by StubHub
There are no games today but here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game Friday:
Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels – $9
Sporting Kansas City at LAFC – $28
9. 📺 On The Air
5 p.m. – Los Angeles Sparks at Minnesota Lynx – NBA TV
10. 📻 The Arash Markazi Show
On Wednesday’s show, we talked about Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard returning to the Lakers and both saying they want a parade after missing one for the Lakers’ championship last year.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!