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NFL relaxing player availability rules in light of all these positives jives with how much they cared about CTE, and player safety in general. I'd love to hear a respected medical expert explain their thumbs up to a person is known to be infected smashing against and piling on others who aren't for a couple hours.

Maybe the NFL should develop a policy for when and how to postpone a week or so. Understanding that an economic hit will happen, so planning an intervention to supplement the hit to cities and customers. I'd watch a Sunday of lame-a$$ commercials while they replay hours of NFL Films.

j/c...

We've been told a lot of things. Sometimes they are contradictory.

My recollection is that the vaccine, as peen said, doesn't do anything to prevent you from getting the virus, they just mitigate the impact on the body. I also recall the statement that the vaccine weakens the virus enough to where you cannot pass it along.

I am sure this has been said, as well as the opposite, multiple times.

Eve posted an official CDC document. So you're saying the CDC doesn't have a clue. Seems right.

Wonder why a vaccinated player who tests positive cannot play but 100,000 vaccinated fans can pack into a stadium of that number there is no clue how many are positive and asymptomatic.

jc...

Remember back a few years ago when the Browns had an issue trying to contain the spread of "STAPH INFECTION".

The problem was thought to be linked to a lack of sanitation within the training facility, though it was not proven. After special attention was given to cleaning and sanitizing the facility and the equipment, the staph issue disappeared.

Since COVID is transmitted through the air, could it be something associated with the ventilation within the facility?



Former Browns center Bentley sues team over staph infection

Published: Jul 22, 2010 at 11:23 AM
link

CLEVELAND -- Former Cleveland Browns center LeCharles Bentley has filed a lawsuit against the team over a career-ending staph infection he says he contracted at the team's facility.

Bentley's attorney, Shannon Polk, said that the lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court is seeking at least $25,000 in damages.

Bentley tore the patella tendon in his left knee on the first team drill of the Browns' 2006 training camp. He had multiple surgeries and never played a game for the Browns, although he returned to compete in the team's minicamp in 2008 before asking for his release.

In 2007, Bentley told The Associated Press that he had undergone four operations since getting hurt, the final two to clean out the staph infection, which ate away at his tendon. The virus became so severe that doctors considered amputating his leg.

"At one point, I was so sick they weren't sure I was going to live through the night," Bentley told the AP.

The lawsuit said the Browns' training facility in suburban Berea has been portrayed to players and player prospects "as a world-class facility at which 'state-of-the-art' physical training, medical care and treatment and other rehabilitative services are provided."

But the lawsuit said Bentley's repaired knee became swollen and he was diagnosed with staph infection within weeks of beginning rehabilitation at the facility on July 31, 2006. The result, the lawsuit said, was multiple surgeries to root out Bentley's staph infection "and he nearly lost his life."

The lawsuit said Bentley developed staph because he relied on the team's representations about a hygienic training facility and because the Browns failed to sanitize equipment.

"The Browns convinced LeCharles to rehab at their facility," Polk said Thursday. "Nothing required him to do it. That wasn't part of his job. They told him their facility was the best and that they had successfully helped others. But they never told him about a host of unsanitary conditions there, and they never told him about the list of others who contracted staph before he chose to rehab there."

"Had the Browns disclosed that stuff to him, had they been straight with him, he would have never agreed to rehab at their training facility," she continued. "The man nearly died from the staph infection he got there."

According to WJW-TV, Neal Gulkis, Browns vice president of media relations, said the team would not comment "at this time."

Several Browns developed staph infections during their time with the team, including defensive back Brian Russell, linebacker Ben Taylor, wide receiver Braylon Edwards and receiver Joe Jurevicius, who settled a similar lawsuit against the team and the Cleveland Clinic in June. None of them are currently with the Browns.

The Browns' alarming rise in staph cases spurred the club to request assistance from the Cleveland Clinic, its health care provider and a sponsor. The Clinic twice sent a team to examine the team's headquarters and indoor practice field house in Berea.

The Clinic concluded the team was following proper procedure and CDC recommendations to prevent staph and that the five cases involving players were unrelated.

Former Browns tight end Kellen Winslow developed an infection following knee surgery after a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2005. Winslow's infection, which was kept under wraps by both Winslow and the Browns, led to an acrimonious departure from the team, who traded him to the Buccaneers prior to the 2009 season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Covid Outbreak Among Cleveland Browns Continues N.F.L. Surge

Fourteen players and Coach Kevin Stefanski reported positive coronavirus tests, threatening the team’s availability for Saturday’s game and the N.F.L.’s ability to keep the schedule on track.

After a single-day high number of confirmed positive coronavirus tests among N.F.L. players on Monday, the spike has hit one team particularly hard. The Cleveland Browns placed 14 players, including quarterback Baker Mayfield, on the Covid-19 list on Tuesday and Wednesday, an outbreak that has threatened the team’s availability for Saturday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders and highlighted the difficulty of containing the virus while also trying to keep the N.F.L. schedule on track.

The cluster of cases on the Browns is part of a nationwide surge that has also affected N.B.A. and N.H.L. organizations despite their high vaccination rates and has made sports leagues reconsider their protocols. Over 94 percent of N.F.L. players are inoculated, according to the league.

Coach Kevin Stefanski tested positive, the team announced Wednesday, adding that he would work virtually ahead of Cleveland’s game against the Raiders. Under N.F.L. protocols, Stefanski, like all vaccinated players and staff members, can return once he produces two negative tests 24 hours apart and shows no symptoms. If he does not clear protocols before Saturday, the special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will act as head coach for the game.

The Browns placed Mayfield on the Covid-19 list Wednesday, along with four defensive players and a member of the practice squad. They joined eight teammates who were placed on the Covid-19 list on Tuesday.

The Cleveland team entered the league’s enhanced mitigation protocols, which include meetings being conducted remotely and masking being required regardless of vaccination status. Despite the outbreak, an N.F.L. spokesman said, there have been no discussions about postponing Saturday’s game.

The Browns are one of several N.F.L. teams dealing with coronavirus disruptions. Leaguewide, 37 players tested positive for the virus on Monday, the highest tally during the pandemic. That day, the league sent a memo to all 32 teams mandating that essential personnel, including coaches and team staff members who are in regular contact with players, receive booster shots by Dec. 27 or be relegated to noncontact roles. The move is to “ensure that we continue to reduce risk of transmission and allow us to complete the N.F.L. season safely during the pandemic.”

The Los Angeles Rams played Monday night without five players who tested positive on Monday. On Tuesday, they added nine more players to the Covid-19 reserve list. A Washington Football Team staffer reportedly tested positive for the Omicron variant, the first such instance in the league. The Detroit Lions have placed nine players on the Covid-19 reserve list in the past nine days and are also in enhanced mitigation protocols, which include daily testing for all players and mask-wearing guidelines. The N.F.L. has resisted implementing the stricter procedures leaguewide.

In the last off-season, the N.F.L. mandated vaccinations for coaches and essential personnel, saying those who refused would be unable to interact with players. The league stopped short of requiring vaccinations for players, but strongly incentivized it by subjecting players who were not inoculated to stiffer protocols. They are tested every day, as opposed to weekly for those who are vaccinated. Unvaccinated players are also required to wear masks inside team facilities, travel to away games on separate planes and adhere to social-distancing measures in weight rooms.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/sports/football/cleveland-browns-covid-outbreak.html

How about a mandatory bye week and cancel week 17's games. It would be a 16 game season just like the last 44yrs. Or cancel the off week between the Conference finals and the Super Bowl.

It’s is really apples and oranges as a comparison, bacteria is significant larger than virus.

But to answer your question, ventilation and filtration of air does matter, especially in cold weather locations. For cold weather locations, Air turnover is minimized to conserve heat and reduce in costs. If you have less air exchange, filtration and even disinfection (ozone/uv/electrostatic ionizers) of recycled air is more important.

With bacteria sanitization is more important. This is not to say that airborne capture should be ignored, but the more likely mode of transmission is contact with contaminated surfaces.

Contaminated, sweaty NFL players are problematic… much more so than common people.

Chances are Bentley and Winslow caught were infected from each other, as I recall it was about the same time. The open wound is a free ride to infection.

Chlorine is your friend.

I doubt that would work. Most of the week 17 games have playoff, division implications. I think before the season the league said it wasn't open to cancelling games. That is why they have Covid lists and expanced rosters.

Just luck of the draw.

Hyperbole aside, I think this is really the issue the NFL is trying to grapple with. The protocols they put in place didn't consider a much more highly infectious, but less serious variant like we're seeing now.

Juke is coming back today.

Like I said elsewhere - if this was a Big Market team, the game would alreday be rescheduled.

Are the Los Angeles Rams considered a big market team?

Depends on what you mean by "market". Big city with a team that no one cares about? Market size basically means eyeballs on the screen in today's age. Besides, one of the media darlings is leading their division... not unlike the Ravens in ours.

There are a few things at play, but make no mistake, the NFL should postpone the Browns match-up.

1. "If I do it for you, I have to do it for both" that could be recited to either the Rams or Browns, and then the ensuing whining about "opening a can of worms going forward".

2. Browns play a game that was flexed to Saturday. The NFL expects to attract would-be college football fans and see great ratings.

3. The following Browns game is another Saturday - Christmas Day, no way in hell they'll allow for the possibility of that being affected. Aaron Rodgers wouldn't let them even if they wanted to.

4. It's the Browns... the games will still attract eyeballs regardless because the whole world loves to laugh and make fun of them while they lose.

5. The Browns organization has neither the political capital not the brass balls to "flex". Last year the Ravens b*tched and moaned about "not feeling safe" and got to play on the exact day they dictated. Our leadership is too weak to flex because it is scared of the repercussions down the road.

When does the game get postponed to? Again, the guys that went on the Covid list yesterday won’t be back until Friday of next week.

The Rams are a big market team no matter what your definition is.

Mass hypnosis!

Where do you get this info, seems like you're the only one privy... especially since the league is mentioned changing the protocol?

As of now the protocol is two negative tests on consecutive days or ten days with no symptoms.

“According to Thursday's memo, vaccinated players or staff who test positive and are asymptomatic can return to duty after two negative tests 24 hours apart. For non-vaccinated persons who test positive, the 2020 protocols remain in place, requiring a 10-day isolation.”

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-covid-19-outbreaks-unvaccinated-players-forfeit-cancelled-game

Am I only the one privy or have you not been paying attention?

It's funny the hills some people choose to die on.

The NFL has had over 100 people test positive since Monday and roughly two thirds are asymptomatic. The other third have symptoms so mild they might not have been tested. Given that info I'd ask either A) Why arent they playing this week or B) Why is anyone playing this week.

No, I'm the idiot, you're the one with the crystal ball. So tell me dear Swami, how long before a player can test negative after having Covid?? I mean, you clearly said they wouldn't be able to play before Saturday, right?

Edit: You said Friday

A good example of why postponing the game is not a realistic possibility would be to look at David Njoku as an example. He tested positive and went into the protocol on Dec. 7th. He has stated he was asymptomatic the entire time. Today, the 10th day in protocol, he was finally cleared to get back on the field.

Moving the game to Monday or Tuesday would not help the situation. I'd argue it would make matters worse, because now the healthy players would be playing on much shorter rest against the Packers

When did they test positive? Add ten days. Voila! They can come back.

Testing negative after a positive is much more rare. Some people still test positive for Covid months after being infected.

If they're asymptomatic, they could be back tomorrow if they've had subsequent negative tests.

Correct. But testing negative after being infected with the virus usually takes a bit of time.

I think the argument of moving the game to Tuesday was more about getting PS and waiver guys a few days of practice with the starters...or so I recollect.

My only point is that "bit of time" is not a finite. You're saying they wouldn't be able to play before Friday, just wondered how you came up with that. That being said, I'm sure you're right. Looking back, players have usually been out at least ten days since testing positive regardless of "protocol".

This sucks.

Great point, the Ravens should be investigated, and punished if they spread Covid to another team, rather than punishing the team they spread it to.

j/c...

So players have to have a negative test on or before tomorrow at 4pm and not show symptoms after in order to play in the Saturday game.

New protocol is no symptoms and a negative test means you can come back.

In related news...

Boom.

It’s not a bad thing to have the union president on your team.

Hearing Case has been marked positive as well now.

https://www.nfl.com/news/browns-case-keenum-covid

j/c

So, players can't play cause of covid, yet the nfl will let 50,00 to 70,000 fans be in attendance (not just cleveland) at every game?