As discussed over the offseason, the Cleveland Browns and J.C. Tretter are in a unique position due to his position as the NFLPA’s president. In that role, Tretter has the responsibility to speak for all NFL players. In his role as the Browns starting center, he has responsibilities as a teammate and contracted employee of the team.
With negotiations surrounding COVID-19 policies, including vaccinations, Tretter has been vocal this offseason in his presidential role. During those communications, whether interviews or columns written on the NFLPA’s website, the Browns center has not hesitated to speak against the NFL when he deemed appropriate.
That continued today in his training camp interview with the media. Tretter spoke out about the NFL’s wristband vaccination policy:
#Browns JC Tretter called the NFLs notion to make players wear special wristbands to specify who is and who isn’t vaccinated “a nonsensical idea.”
Said they already have protocol to cover that in mask mandates.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) July 29, 2021
Rarely one to mince word, but always appropriate, Tretter’s use of “nonsensical” ties to his belief that players are identified in other ways. First, the mask mandates clearly delineate the vaccinated players from the unvaccinated players. Second, the team has a list of who has been vaccinated and can use that list to help them track players’ movements.
While the wristbands may make the teams’ jobs easier in making sure procedures are followed, Tretter believes they have another motive: Shame. He also notes that the Browns are not using the wristband system:
#Browns center and NFLPA prez JC Tretter said he’s opposed to teams using wrist bands to differentiate between vaccinated and unvaccinated players because he thinks it’s NFL’s way to shame unvaccinated players. He said Cleveland isn’t using wrist bands.
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) July 29, 2021
As Tretter continues to get asked these questions due to his NFLPA position, he seems willing to answer them very directly.
