Eric Bieniemy Lived in a Hotel During the 2020 NFL Season to Protect High-Risk Son
In a new story on Sports Illustrated by Jenny Vrentas recounting the struggles of a COVID-19 plagued NFL season, it is revealed that Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy spent the year in a hotel to protect his son, Eric Bieniemy III.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy lived in a hotel from July 23 through the Super Bowl to isolate from his wife, Mia, and their two sons. Bieniemy’s older son, Eric III, has cerebral palsy and respiratory issues, making the 26-year-old high risk for contracting COVID-19. To keep him safe, Bieniemy made this private sacrifice for the entirety of the 2020 season: He would stay in a hotel six nights out of the week and only return home on Fridays—but wearing double masks, keeping a distance and sleeping in the basement. “It’s been this way for the past six months,” Bieniemy said before Super Bowl LV. “It’s been a challenge.” The lonely nights were a stark contrast from how 2020 began, with Eric III’s wheelchair parked on a platform inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Mia whispering play-by-play in his ear as the Chiefs fought their way to a Super Bowl championship.
Bieniemy's months-long arrangement had not been made public before today, highlighting the challenges and sacrifices that came with the NFL's push through a season tainted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
After the season, Bieniemy was once again passed over for a potential head coaching job elsewhere in the NFL and is now slated to return as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator for another year.
Read Vrentas' full story on SI.com: When the World Stopped, the NFL Didn’t
