The NFL continues to suffer from scandal after scandal.
Now the league is facing a major decision.
And one undercover video is bad news for this NFL team.
Last Sunday night, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38 to 3 in a key NFC South matchup.
A video after the game showed Saints players and coaches dancing, cheering, and celebrating their victory.
All perfectly normal stuff.
But now the coronavirus scolds ranted and raved about the Saints players not wearing masks and violating the NFL’s COVID protocols.
Now the NFL may fine the Saints and take away draft picks – a punishment the NFL handed down against the Las Vegas Raiders for head coach Jon Gruden and others for not wearing masks.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports:
Video of Saints players and head coach Sean Payton dancing and celebrating their 38-3 victory over Tampa Bay trended last Sunday night. Multiple players were clearly not wearing masks during the celebration in the locker room, which is a violation of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols — and the league noticed, according to sources.
The Saints are facing stiff fines and the loss of a draft pick, similar to the action the NFL took against the Raiders earlier this month, when Las Vegas was fined $500,000, head coach Jon Gruden was fined $150,000 and the franchise was stripped of a sixth-round pick for COVID-19 protocol violations.
Discipline is expected to be handed down this week, according to a source, though the NFL and the Saints’ legal team spent previous days discussing the issue.
The NFL has completely bought into the media’s coronavirus fear porn.
But now this hysteria is starting to affect the league’s competitive balance as the college draft is a NFL team’s prime asset to acquire cost controllable young talent that allows a franchise to set itself up for sustained success in a hard salary cap league.
This really is just the league virtue signaling for the coronavirus scolds who think Americans need to cancel Thanksgiving and Christmas.
If Joe Biden does end up becoming President, many Americans expect things to get worse as Democrat Governors are already implementing strict lockdowns again as the media frets over rising coronavirus numbers.
Meanwhile, other Americans realize this is a virus that has a 99.7% survival rate and are ready to go on with their lives in a normal fashion – including celebrating victories after sporting events and attending family get-togethers over the holidays.
Political Animal News will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.