The NFL club does not have the authority to release a player who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, a person familiar with the league’s order told the Associated Press on Friday.
Brandon Bean, general manager of Buffalo Bills, suggested earlier this week that he planned to do so in order to provide more freedom within the team’s facilities for meetings and fitness programs over the summer.
The person was not named because the Goodell Circuit did not issue a public order in the matter. The NFL is currently developing its plans and protocols for summer fitness programs and training camps.
“A team cannot release a player because of a vaccine condition,” the person said.
On Wednesday, Bean answered a question about this to a player who is imaginative under the Bills pay scale. This came as the NFL relaxed restrictions on teams with fully vaccinated staff and players.
“You saw him in the locker room; We had three or four meetings at once and sometimes they had to talk to each other. This is the only way to achieve this when respecting physical distance, he said of league protocols for controlling the number of players who can meet at the same time. It would therefore be advantageous to exempt an athlete (non-vaccinated person) from benefiting from less stringent health regulations.
While agreeing in the same breath that the rules are not yet clearly established, Bean expects the restrictions to be relaxed.
“I hope there will be concessions. If you have vaccinated soldiers and staff, you can go back to your regular activities – we will keep it as it was in the good old days,” he explained.
“Otherwise, it’s like last year,” Bean continued. However, I hope that if these rules are in place, we can vaccinate as many people as possible so that we do not have to face these headaches again. ”
The NFL and Players’ Association encourages athletes to be vaccinated, but it is not required.