Bills' Beasley, Ferguson Offer to Buy Road Game Tickets for Unvaccinated Fans

With new health and safety protocols going in place at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium that will require any attendees 12 years old or older to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccine, two Bills players took action. 

Wide receiver Cole Beasley and long snapper Reid Ferguson offered to buy unvaccinated fans tickets to road games if fans were able to find them. 

"If you find an away game you are able to go to then I will buy the tickets for you guys," Beasley, one of the most vocal NFL players against vaccination mandates, tweeted earlier this week (sic). "DM me names and every thing snd I’ll figure out the best way to make it happen. Wish she could witness the mafia!" 

Ferguson tweeted a similar sentiment to another fan. 

The Bills are one of four NFL teams playing in stadiums where fans are required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry, joining the Seahawks, Saints and Raiders. 

Hauquitz, who Beasley responded to, told The Buffalo News he's unvaccinated for multiple reasons, including "a lack of education about the COVID-19 vaccines." He feels the information available "seems to be one-sided." The father went on to say he's already had COVID-19 and has antibodies, which in his opinion are "just as good as the vaccine."

Per an August 2021 report from the U.S. Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from a study based in Kentucky, unvaccinated individuals who previously contracted COVID-19 are almost two and half times more likely to develop the illness again compared to those who have been fully vaccinated.

The Pfizer-BioNTech shot has been fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. said in the announcement that, "While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product." 

Starting Sept. 26, all guests 12 years old or older at Highmark Stadium will be required to show proof of receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and all guests in that age range must be fully vaccinated beginning October 31. No exceptions are being given, and those younger than 12 will be required to wear a mask at all times, per WKBW in Buffalo. 

Beasley noted during training camp that "without having all the proper information, a player can feel misguided and unsure about a very personal choice."

"I'm not anti or pro vax. I'm pro choice," Beasley said in a statement. "The issue at hand is information is being withheld from players in order for a player to be swayed in a direction that he may not be comfortable with."

"Safety does not solely mean avoiding the COVID virus," Beasley said. "Our health is now and years beyond which we are trying to protect with our personal choice by doing all the things we did in our protocols during the very successful 2020 NFL season."