FORT WORTH, Texas — Former Dallas Cowboys and current Buffalo Bills receiver Cole Beasley has said his piece.
And he is at peace with it.
Now, the Little Elm native and SMU alumnus vows to keep his personal views regarding the COVID-19 vaccine to himself.
Beasley, 32, shook up social media and made national news last week when he posted heartfelt and honest thoughts on why he's choosing not to get vaccinated.
"I said all I needed to say. I'm just living a normal life from here on out," Beasley told the Star-Telegram. "I'm not trying to sway anybody in either direction. That's what I am doing and that's the end of it."
Beasley, who is preparing for his 10th season in the NFL, including the first seven with the Cowboys, does not regret voicing his concerns about the vaccine.
"I don't want a be any more of a distraction to my team so that's where I'm leaving it," he said. "Something needed to be said, so I said it. I don't regret any of it. That's how I feel."
Last week, after the NFL and the NFL Players Association announced updated COVID-19 protocols for the 2021 season, Beasley responded on social media, calling into question the fairness and logistics of the NFL's new COVID-related guidelines for fully-vaccinated players and staff and those players and staff who have not been vaccinated.
"This is crazy. Did we vote on this? I stay in the hotel. We still have meetings. We will all be together," Beasley said on Twitter. "The players association is a joke. Call it something different. It's not for the players. Everyone gives me the 98 percent of people who are vaccinated don't get covid again. The odds of me getting in the NFL and playing for 10 years are lower than that and I'm here."
The new rules give fully-vaccinated players much of the freedoms they enjoyed pre-pandemic in terms of training camp restrictions and travel guidelines during the season. Players who are not fully vaccinated will continue to be tested daily and will face travel and other restrictions.
