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Cole Beasley is prepared to die on this hill, as long as it is not from vaccination complications.
The nine-year NFL receiver has dominated headlines for weeks due to his vocal opposition of the NFL and NFLPA’s plan to not only limit players that are not vaccinated for COVID-19, but force teams to forfeit and withhold pay if they cannot play scheduled games due to a COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players/personnel.
The 32-year-old Bills receiver read a prepared statement in his first meeting with reporters regarding his stance on vaccination and how it pertains to the NFL’s recent mandates.
#Bills WR Cole Beasley is talking to reporters now and he starts off by reading a prepared statement. Says he’s not pro or anti-vaccine but that he’s pro-choice. Full video below: pic.twitter.com/C0O39zjaza
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 28, 2021
“I’m not anti or pro-vax, I’m pro choice.”
On his gripe with the NFL:
“Information is being withheld from players in order for players to be swayed in a direction he may not be comfortable with. When dealing with a player’s safety there should be complete transparency regarding information that is vital in the decision-making process. Without having the proper information, a player could feel misguided or unsure about a very personal choice.”
On the perception he’s being selfish:
“Some people may think that I’m being selfish and making this a ‘Me’ thing. It is all about the young players who don’t have a voice and are reaching out to me every day because they’re being told if they don’t get vaxxed, they’ll be cut. Agents are being told by teams if they have unvaccinated guys, they will not be given opportunities as of now to be seen in workouts.
So once unvaxxed players get cut, they’re losing a dream they worked their whole lives, for a vaccine that has proven to not keep people from getting COVID. Every doctor I’ve gone to tells me, ‘from what we know now…’ which tells me we don’t know enough.”
On the NFL moving the goal posts with testing requirements:
“The NFLPA is working to have vaccinated players tested more frequently than what the NFL initially stated. A lot of players got the vaccination with the idea that these rules were set in stone. They are not. It is common sense that if a vaxxed or unvaxxed player is tested less frequently, the likelihood of a player being pulled for COVID drops dramatically.”
On longevity:
“We all want to be safe. For so many around the NFL, safety does not solely mean avoiding the COVID virus. Our health is the now, and years beyond, which we are trying to protect with our personal choice, while doing all the things we did in our protocol during a very successful 2020 season.”
Thank you for clarifying your stance, Cole. Charles Barkley still thinks you’re an asshole.