In his senior season at UCLA, basketball center Bill Walton showed up to the season’s first practice with a full beard. He knew it went against coach John Wooden’s rules. He’d thought it out.
“It’s my right,” he told the coach.
Wooden pressed to make sure Walton believed strongly in keeping his beard. Walton insisted it wasn’t going anywhere.
“Bill, I admire people who have strong beliefs and stick by them,” Wooden said. “We’re going to miss you.”
This story came to mind as reserve Miami Dolphins tight end Adam Shaheen talked about refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday. He missed a few recent practices due to the virus protocol.
Shaheen said he didn’t have the virus and missed the practices due to the team’s contact tracing. Another reserve, Cethan Carter, also was out and returned. Tight end Mike Gesicki and and co-offensive coordinator George Godsey remain out of practice due to the same incident.
Shaheen stood resolute against taking the vaccine.
“For me, it’s a personal choice and it’s bigger than just COVID,” he said. “I’m not going to elaborate further on that. There is — the NFL has been trying to push it. It is no secret that they’ve been trying to push it on unvaccinated guys.
“I’m going to continue to go through the protocols of the unvaccinated that they make me do. I’m not going to get fined. But they are not going to strong-arm me into doing something for more freedom when this is such a changing atmosphere and they are already taking away freedoms of unvaccinated guys.
“This is just a changing environment and I’m going to take my hands off and follow the rules that they put in place for me. But they’re not going to strong-arm myself into getting [the vaccine].”
Full transparency: I’m vaccinated. I believe the easiest road back to normal is through vaccinations. But let’s stick to sports, right? The NFL is going to do everything it can to protect its multi-billion-dollar business from a minority of players or support staff who refuse to get vaccinated.
Every NFL employee right down to the NFL Network has to be vaccinated — or be out of a job. There’s a gauntlet of rules for unvaccinated players that teams must follow beginning with daily testing. Any team with an outbreak that cancels a game must forfeit that game — and both teams’ players surrender game paycheck.
Add it all up and there are career implications for players who don’t take the vaccine. Everyone knows it. As one former NFL general manager told me: “If you’re deciding between two players and one’s vaccinated and one isn’t — they’ve made your decision for you. You’d better be an important player if you don’t want to get vaccinated.”
Minnesota’s entire quarterback room missed practices due to virus protocol. Quarterback Kirk Cousins, who tested positive, refuses to get vaccinated and insists he’ll go to team meetings with Plexiglas around him. All this has manageable consequences in training camp like the Dolphins’ tight-end room. But in the season?
“I just don’t understand,” Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer said. “I think we could put this thing to bed if we all [get vaccinated]. But it is what it is.”
Shaheen was asked about wearing masks. He said it’s about “people’s choice. If you want to wear a mask and protect yourself and those around you like they say, I’m all for it. No problem. If I don’t want to, I’m all for it.”
The larger problem is when the right not to get vaccinated or wear a mask infringes on others’ rights to stay healthy. But let’s limit this to the NFL.
No plan is foolproof. Even the vaccinated can get the Delta variant of the virus on a team — but the vaccinated don’t have to miss practice if they don’t test positive. All evidence points to vaccinated people not suffering from it like the unvaccinated might.
Those running sports teams are managing risk on this issue. If everyone’s vaccinated and precautions are taken, that’s the best you can do. But do you take on replaceable players who aren’t vaccinated?
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban related those not getting vaccinated to someone playing blackjack and explaining why they’re not hitting at 16 when the dealer has an ace showing. You can win that way, of course. The odds just aren’t with you.
Shaheen had 12 catches and three touchdowns last year. You can admire him standing on principles. You also can understand why the Dolphins could say he’s not worth the risk.
Wooden admired Walton for standing on his principles with that beard so many years ago at UCLA. Walton missed the first practice after being kicked off the team. He then shaved his beard, re-joined the team and was an All-America center his final college season.
