New York, NY — This past Saturday, multiple sources told NBC Sports that a deal had been reached by the NFL and the NFL Players Association banning players from attending any indoor church services that are above 25 percent capacity.
Alongside its restrictions on attending worship services, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) also prohibits players from attending indoor nightclubs and bars (except for take-out), indoor concerts, professional sports games, and indoor parties that include 15 or more people.
The deal has not been released to the public, but NBC Sports made no mention of any restrictions on attending riots running rampant across our country. Meanwhile, the NFL’s Twitter account has shared and celebrated pictures of players engaging in protests.
.@Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette organized a peaceful protest in Jacksonville yesterday. 🙌 (via @_fournette) pic.twitter.com/wzTSk85Dty
— NFL (@NFL) June 10, 2020
Jameis Winston joined the #BLM protests with his son. @Jaboowins (via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/MYV49usl0h
— NFL (@NFL) June 25, 2020
Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins pays a visit to #BlackLivesMatter Plaza in D.C. (via @dh_simba7) pic.twitter.com/HZXRox2DxA
— NFL (@NFL) June 7, 2020
In the video below, the NFL shared the following on June 5th, “We, the NFL—encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange pic.twitter.com/ENWQP8A0sv
— NFL (@NFL) June 5, 2020
Under the guidelines of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), players can face fines if they don’t comply with the restrictions on church and the other activities listed. Each offense can result in a variety of ways. Ultimately, violating the CBA can result in fines anywhere from $5,000 to over $70,000.
Any player(s) who test positive for Covid-19, after violating the CBA won’t be paid for games they aren’t able to attend.”
The Federalist reported that,
If players do violate the rules, NBC Sports speculates that teams may “rely on contacts within the community to contact the team if/when violations are witnessed,” or even use a tip line. In other words, members of the community would be encouraged to report players they see trying to attend church. Other ideas suggested by NBC include tracking players or stationing officials at “local establishments,” potentially including players’ houses of worship.
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