Since the month of March, COVID-19 has been considered to be a pandemic around the world. Some countries have done a better job than others at mitigating the virus, with the United States largely lagging behind. With the Fall season upon us, a harsh second wave is expected which could lead to even more shutdowns. The NFL has been hyper-aware of this reality over the last few weeks and for good reason. Some teams have had positive COVID cases, including the Tennessee Titans who had 16 players and staff members test positive at its peak.
Today, the NFL took a massive step when it comes to enforcing their Coronavirus rules. With teams not taking the guidelines seriously, the NFL is now threatening teams with harsh punitive action. Instead of just monetary punishments, teams could be subjected to a loss of draft picks or even match forfeitures.
These are some very harsh punishments to take although, considering the nature of the virus, they are necessary. Players come into contact with numerous people over the course of the week and if they're not careful, well, an entire team could be given the virus.
Throughout these next few weeks, it will be interesting to see if the NFL will be forced to enforce any of these new deterrents.