Urban Meyer may have been too honest with the media on Tuesday.
Meyer spoke with reporters about the Jacksonville Jaguars’ moves on roster cutdown day. He said that they took a player’s vaccination status into consideration when making decisions.
“Everyone was considered,” Meyer said. “That was part of the [considerations such as] production, let’s start talking about this, and also is he vaccinated or not? Can I say that that was a decision maker? It was certainly in consideration.”
Perhaps Meyer should not have said that.
The NFLPA said on Tuesday that they are investigating the comments.
NFLPA comment to PFT on Jaguars coach Urban Meyer admitting vaccination status was a factor in roster cuts: “These comments have led us to open an investigation.”
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 1, 2021
The NFL has much stricter protocol for unvaccinated players compared to vaccinated players. Unvaccinated players have restrictions related to more frequent testing, mask-wearing, meal-eating, and more. The vaccination status of one notable player reportedly was a factor in his release too.
The word has been going on for a while that unvaccinated players were at a disadvantage. Whether someone admitting on record that vaccinations were a factor leads to repercussions remains to be seen. It seems like a discrimination lawsuit could be in play, but the NFLPA agreed to the vaccine-related restrictions this year.
