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NFL's new coronavirus rules will outlaw jersey swaps immediately after the players stop tackling and blocking each other for 3 hours

Jul 10, 2020, 00:40 IST
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The NFL will not allow players to swap jerseys post-game, as it would bring players within six feet of each other. Unfortunately, so does football.Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
  • NFL players, reporters, and fans roasted a new rule from the league that would ban post-game jersey swaps between players.
  • The rule is intended to ensure that social distancing measures are maintained whenever possible.
  • Given that players will have just finished a three-hour slog of bodies against bodies, the rule seems incongruous with the realities of the coming season.
  • Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson called the rule "DAMN SILLY," while San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said it was "a perfect example of NFL thinking."
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The NFL released some new protocols for the upcoming season on Thursday, and one, in particular, caught the eye of fans and players alike.

As NFL Network's Tom Pelissero wrote on Twitter, post-game interactions that would bring players within six feet of each other, such as jersey swaps, would be banned for the 2020 campaign.

While the rule gets at an important reality of the upcoming season — acknowledging the COVID-19 pandemic that has held much of the country in quarantine since March — it seems to dismiss the fact that the players will be competing in a sport that makes social distancing all but impossible for roughly three hours on the field.

The rule was immediately roasted by players, fans, and reporters covering the league. Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman both made their feelings known on Twitter.

Others on Twitter were similarly critical of the rule.

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It's not the first time that the NFL has caught criticism for its incongruous rules regarding playing through the pandemic.

In June, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said it would be "impossible" for teams to follow all of the new rules and restrictions that had been put in place by the league.

"I've seen all the memos on that, and to be quite honest with you, it's impossible what they're asking us to do. Humanly impossible," Harbaugh said in an interview with 105.7 The Fan, as ESPN transcribed. "So, we're going to do everything we can do. We're going to space, we're going to have masks. But, you know, it's a communication sport. We have to be able to communicate with each other in person. We have to practice."

NFL training camps are set to start by the end of July, with the regular season still scheduled to begin on time with a Thursday night showdown between the Texans and Chiefs on September 10.

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