Former NFL fullback Anthony Sherman compares COVID-19 vaccination wristbands to segregation
Retired NFL fullback Anthony Sherman lashed out against the NFL’s training camp policy of using wristbands to indicate COVID-19 vaccination status to racial segregation.
“The @NFL is making players wear colored wrist bands now based on vaccination status,” Sherman tweeted. “Funny, I thought we all agreed on the evils of segregation back in the 60s. Here we are again- only this time it’s based on personal health choices instead of skin color.”
Sherman’s tweet received pushback on his tweet with many calling it inappropriate to place vaccination status and a person’s skin color in the same category.
Sherman doubled down on his original tweet, calling into question the NFL’s decision-making.
“The league clearly values being woke, not awake. What a shame. And what a sham,” he tweeted.
As training camps open for many NFL teams, some teams have opted to use different colored wristbands to show who is and isn’t vaccinated. As part of updated health and safety guidelines, the NFL is asking unvaccinated players to take part in more rigorous limitations including more testing and mask wearing, according to USA Today.
The new rules have faced harsh criticism from current NFL players including Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter who is also the president of the NFL Players Association. Tretter called the wristbands, “kind of a nonsensical idea.”
On Thursday, an NFL spokesman said that 87.9% of players have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, 19 teams have at least 90% of their players vaccinated and nine teams have over 95% of their players vaccinated.
