Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders ramp up peer pressure on Cole Beasley to get vaccinated
With the NFL getting serious about COVID-19 vaccines, the pressure is on in the Buffalo Bills wide receivers room.
Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders have both tweeted vaccine-related messaging since Thursday's NFL memo dropping the hammer on consequences for COVID-19 outbreaks.
NFL's hardline stance on vaccines
In case you missed it, the NFL is holding players accountable for any outbreaks that occur among those who aren't vaccinated. If an outbreak forces the cancellation of a game, the team with the outbreak will take a loss for that game. Players from both teams will forfeit their game checks for a canceled game per an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA set up last season.
Meanwhile, the NFL memo stated that it "will attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both participating teams" if an outbreak is linked to vaccinated players. In short, if you're unvaccinated and linked to an outbreak that forces a game to be canceled, you'll be held responsible by the league and, subsequently, your teammates and colleagues who won't get paid and might pick up a loss.
Here's looking at you, Cole Beasley.
The Bills receiver who's become the face of the anti-vax movement in NFL circles unsurprisingly filled his Twitter timeline with anti-vaccine propaganda in response to Thursday's NFL memo. His fellow Bills wide receivers had different takes.
Diggs, Sanders call for 'accountability'
Almost immediately after Thursday's memo went public, Diggs tweeted this:
accountability … availability
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) July 22, 2021
New Bills arrival Emmanuel Sanders followed his All-Pro teammate's lead, posting an Instagram image of his newly-acquired vaccine card on Friday while echoing Diggs' call for accountability and availability.
He also added: "Don't have time to deal with no bs during the season."
#Bills WR Emmanuel Sanders shares that he has receive his first dose of the Covid vaccine on Instagram and adds a similar message to what Stefon Diggs tweeted the other day.
“Accountability. Availability. Don’t have time to deal with no bs during the season. #Chasinggreatness” pic.twitter.com/AmA99CQ1cn— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) July 23, 2021
While the NFL stopped short of mandating vaccines among its players, it's set up a system where unvaccinated players will be held accountable for COVID-19 outbreaks. Diggs and Sanders are clearly more than happy take up that mantle.
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