Getting the COVID-19 vaccination is a personal choice, of course, but that choice affects everybody around us, whether we’re willing to admit it or not.

It’s especially true in team sports, and to that point, the NFL today came out and pre-emptively placed the hammer above players who refuse the vaccine. They have not yet dropped this figurative hammer, but they will if their anti-vax status fucks with the NFL season.

Tom Pelissero is sharing the details on Twitter right now:

That’s pretty stern. If anti-vax Cole Beasley and other anti-vax Bills teammates come down with COVID, for instance, and the game has to be scrapped, Buffalo gets a loss. Those are, indeed, “massive implications.”

Here’s more:

The NFL is basically saying that players can choose to get the vaccine or not, but if they don’t, and that screws with the schedule, then they are going to face the consequences. It’s a pretty strong effort to incentivize vaccination, and it’s their prerogative to do this as a private sector organization that does not guarantee employment or participation.

Full memo here: