Report: Other Teams' Execs Want Harsh Punishments for Titans
NFL executives think that the Tennessee Titans are to blame for the COVID-19 outbreak that already has postponed one game and created significant doubt about another.
And they are not happy about it.
Mike Sando of The Athletic spoke to a handful of team executives who all believe that the Titans did not adhere to the NFL’s mask requirements within the team facility and that the franchise should face stiff punishments. None of those who spoke to Sando were named, but their thoughts on the matter were perfectly clear.
“I think they forfeit a game, lose a draft pick and incur a fine,” one person said. “I’d nail them, but hopefully they can get their shit together after that and be able to play.”
Another added: “You start with the idea that the NFL is not going to jeopardize the season and they are willing to extremely punish one team as a deterrent for everybody else to recognize there will be severe consequences, including in your won-loss column, if you do not follow the protocols, because the one thing they need is to have all or nearly all the games played.”
The NFL has reported positive COVID-19 tests involving Titans players and coaches in eight of the last 10 days. In that time, the coronavirus has been found in 13 players and 10 staff members.
The team’s training facility has been closed since Sept. 29 and all in-person activities have been banned. Players got together for group workouts on their own last week, which prompted a league investigation, the results of which have not been made public.
“I’m talking millions in fines just to the organization, enough so it really affects the bottom line in what is a challenging year already, and you need to fine the people in charge,” a third executive said, if Tennessee is found to be negligent.
Sando reported that it has been “an open secret” within the league for some time that the Titans had not enforced mask requirements in their meeting and locker rooms. That contradicts players’ claims at the start of training camp that NFL Players’ Association representative Dennis Kelly was dictatorial in his role as enforcer of the mask rule.
“If there is clear evidence that people were violating policy, crush them because the consequences are too severe for the league,” one exec said.
