Earlier this week, Dianna Russini and Adam Schefter reported that the NFL’s general manager subcommittee suggested to Roger Goodell that he move back April’s draft due to COVID-19.

Goodell decided not to do that, forging on with the original plan to run an appropriately stripped-down version of the draft from 4/23 to 4/25. The league office then sent out this memo to teams, which was shared by Schefty:

The second-to-last paragraph sticks out. Any public discussion is “grounds for disciplinary action” basically translates to “know your role and shut your mouth, we’re doing this.”

And Goodell is spot-on when he talks about the “positive purpose” of moving forward with the draft. This is something for people to look forward to during a time when they’re anxious and a little depressed. Morale is important, and holding the draft would be a really nice adrenaline boost for starved sports fans.

Plus, if people are watching the draft, it means they’re inside and sitting in front of TV, and not outside doing dumb things like ordering from a Wawa touch screen.