BY: Walker
Published 4 years ago
The NFL has stripped the Las Vegas Raiders of a 2021 sixth-round draft pick and fined them $500,000 for repeated COVID-19 protocol breaches.
via: Complex
The NFL has fined the Las Vegas Raiders $500,000 and their head coach Jon Gruden $150,000 for violating COVID-19 protocols, according to Yahoo senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson. The Raiders have also lost their 2021 sixth-round pick.
Sources: #NFL will fine the Las Vegas #Raiders $500,000 & coach Jon Gruden $150,000 and strip the team of a 6th round draft pick for COVID-19 protocol violations related to OT Trent Brown’s positive test in late October. Escalated fines/pick were due to being a “repeat offender”.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) November 6, 2020
Jay Glazer of FOX Sports warned in late October that the NFL would come down hard on the Raiders after offensive lineman Trent Brown tested positive for coronavirus. Glazer suggested that the team would be fined “very heavily,” adding it would be higher than the $350,000 fine given to the Tennessee Titans.
COVID-19 continues to impact teams around the NFL. @JayGlazer with the latest on those issues: pic.twitter.com/4ufQB32eDZ
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 25, 2020
As noted by Robinson, the Raiders were punished so severely because they are now considered a “repeat offender.” Gruden was fined $100,000 for failing to properly wear a face covering during a game against the New Orleans Saints in late September. In early October, 10 Raiders players were fined by the league for a total of $165,000 for attending a fundraiser event for charity and not wearing a face covering.
Brown contracted the virus later that month, and was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. An investigation by the NFL and NFLPA found that Brown didn’t always wear his tracking device, which helps with contract tracing when a player tests positive.
Brown was set to return to the field this past Sunday, but he was hospitalized after air entered his bloodstream during a pregame IV. Even though he has since been released from the hospital, Brown returned to the reserve/COVID-19 list after experiencing complications due to the virus.
It’s good to see that the NFL is taking COVID seriously.