Drew Lock's Mom Reveals 'Truth' About Broncos' QB Quarantine Situation, 'Shames' NFL
It's a powerful connection that mothers have with their children and when the survival instinct kicks in, it does so with a vengeance — especially when a mother perceives a threat to her child.
With Drew Lock under fire from local and national media for violating the NFL's mask-wearing protocols last week, which led to the league ruling him, Brett Rypien, Blake Bortles, and Jeff Driskel — all of Denver's quarterbacks — out of Week 12's game vs. New Orleans, without being amenable to rescheduling the game, Laura Lock took to Twitter to defend her son.
"Shame—shame on the many for thinking that they can speak of others in damning ways. Here is the truth — Drew and the QB room requested permission to watch film. They came to the facility on their own time to put in more work. His leadership, which seems to be in question by some, brought them to this predicament; Drew asking for more commitment of his QB room than just a normal NFL day. Drew and the QBs even requesting a room at the facility rather than risking 'trouble' and meeting an off-campus site.
"This is a group of four men that had tested negative that day and are with their people — their 'ecosystem' as we tell our children and friend groups. They let their guard down, they did not wear masks the entire time they were in their socially distanced environment.... it's unfortunate — not damning. Does Drew take this virus serious? Ask his sister who visited and had to quarantine and test before arriving. Ask his girlfriend who he has asked not to travel to away games. Ask his Dad and I who stay in a hotel on game weekends rather than his home.
"Oh, and by the way, he does not have COVID — he wasn't the one with COVID and as I pray nightly, I hope he doesn't, nor anyone else, get COVID. Let's interrogate those in the NFL that do have COVID — how safe were they being? Who was in their 'ecosystem' that shouldn't have been or were they just not wearing their masks all the time?
"As a parent, an educator, a friend, a co-worker, a boss — using people to make an example of a situation is wrong. The NFL used one of their own as an example — this is where the shame is."
Mrs. Lock's scathing rebuke to the NFL, and her son's critics, might be perceived inside Dove Valley as kicking the hornet's nest, but she's not 'revealing' anything that we didn't already know, courtesy of the team.
Head coach Vic Fangio confirmed following the Broncos' 31-3 QB-less loss to the Saints that Lock and his fellow signal-callers showed initiative to go into work last Tuesday, instead of taking the day off, to watch film. Fangio even called it "commendable" that Lock and company would go above and beyond, after the head coach shared his "disappointment" in the Broncos' QBs for not perfectly obeying the NFL's COVID-19 mask-wearing protocols.
The NFL came down hard on the Broncos and showed no mercy or flexibility to reschedule, despite having done so with every other team similarly afflicted by a COVID-19 crisis. It was an obvious and ham-handed public shaming of the Broncos and as Mrs. Lock said, it was all about making an example of them to scare the other 31 teams straight.
For obvious reasons, Drew is bearing the brunt of the criticism for Denver all-but-forfeiting Week 12 and having to start an undrafted rookie wide receiver on the practice squad at quarterback in Kendall Hinton. However, as guilty as Lock might be for his imperfect obedience to the NFL's intensive COVID-19 protocols, anyone with a brain can recognize the double-standard by the NFL.
The punishment did not fit the crime. Here's the analogy.
Imagine a 23-year-old gets caught on camera stealing a piece of candy at the local drug store. He got busted. He was guilty. But the judge hands down capital punishment.
None could deny that the kid was guilty. He was on film. But the punishment did not meet the crime.
I don't blame Mrs. Lock for fiercely standing up for her son because both Drew and the Broncos were treated unfairly in an egregious and outrageous way. With the Kansas City Chiefs up next, though, Lock has to focus on the task at hand.
Drew has bigger fish to fry, for now, rather than dwelling on the past, even though it was an injustice to any objective observer. The Chiefs have been the monkey on Lock's back.
Test negative for the virus on Tuesday. Get back on the practice field on Wednesday.
And show the NFL how you really feel by taking it out on the Chiefs and snap Kansas City's 10-game winning streak over the Broncos.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
