The NFL has not been able to get out of its own way in 2020.
Teams and league officials alienated fans with their embrace of the radical Black Lives Matter group.
And now the NFL made a major political statement with this harsh crackdown.
When the Las Vegas Raiders played in Oakland and Los Angeles they were known as the league’s renegade franchise.
The team won three Super Bowls while stocking their roster with castoffs, misfits, and rebels.
Owner Al Davis even successfully sued the NFL over moving from Oakland to Los Angeles in the early ‘80s.
Now the league is cracking down on the Raiders to virtue signal for left-wing sports media members who dine on coronavirus hysteria.
The league fined the team $250,000 and head coach Jon Gruden $100,000 and stripped the team of sixth round draft pick because Gruden did not wear a mask during a Week Two Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints.
If that wasn’t enough, the league fined several players for the “crime” of trying to go about their lives and not submitting the coronavirus hysteria regime the league tried to impose.
ESPN reports:
Also, tight end Darren Waller was fined $30,000 and nine teammates, including quarterback Derek Carr, were dinged $15,000 each for appearing Oct. 5 at a Waller Foundation charity event maskless and mixing with the crowd.
In total, Las Vegas has racked up $1.185 million in fines for breaking COVID-19 protocols, and the Raiders are the first team to lose a draft pick over the violations.Two weeks ago, Pro Bowl right tackle Trent Brown tested positive for COVID-19, but because he was not wearing his tracer at the team facility, and several players were not wearing masks after rookie cornerback Damon Arnette had gone on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the four other members of Las Vegas’ starting offensive line — left tackle Kolton Miller, left guard Denzelle Good, center Rodney Hudson and right guard Gabe Jackson — were deemed high-risk close contacts and all had to self-quarantine during the week.
The election results on Tuesday showed that Americans were getting tired of the lockdowns and social distancing as Donald Trump’s “let’s get back to normal” message proved far more popular than so-called “experts” thought.
The NFL is missing that signal just like they misread their fan base when the league went all-in on Black Lives Matter.
Political Animal News will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
