Darius Slay Addresses The Irony In The NFL Deciding To Ban Postgame Jersey Swaps

In the wake of all the sports cancellations, the NFL is working hard to deliver a season for football fans. There will have to be several behavioral changes in order to make that happen. The league recently reported that postgame interactions, including jersey swaps, will be prohibited. Eagles, and former Lions, cornerback Darius Slay found the decision amusing. Slay took to Twitter to address the irony in the NFL’s attempt to make football a safer environment.

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So we can tackle each other for 60min but can’t exchange jersey that takes 2 mins😂😂😂 https://t.co/5RKq54T0mH

— Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) July 9, 2020

It’s not a bad idea to try and prevent loitering. However, the former Lions DB has a good point. Players will spend nearly four hours pounding each other into the dirt, so it seems silly for the NFL to tell them they can’t talk or do a jersey swap after the game. This is a pretty slippery slope when you think about it. I can’t help but wonder what’s next. Is the NFL going to tell teams they can’t form a huddle to call plays because they have to maintain social distance? Then what? No tackling?! At that point, they might as well be playing soccer. Slay was not the only DB that was tickled by the new rule.

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This is a perfect example of NFL thinking in a nutshell. Players can go engage in a full contact game and do it safely. However, it is deemed unsafe for them to exchange jerseys after said game. 😂🤣😂 https://t.co/fWefsUSVDc

— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 9, 2020

The NFL plans to kick off the 2020 season as scheduled, but a number of players have addressed safety concerns. The league has talked about adding safety shields to the helmets that would act essentially as a mask. Several players have pushed back against the proposed protocols, claiming it would affect their vision and breathing. No matter what the NFL ultimately decides, I just don’t see a way to make such a contact driven sport a much safer environment. The UFC has pulled it off pretty well so far. Although, there is a big difference between one-on-one combat and 22 very large men fighting over the pigskin.

As much as I love the NFL season, I just don’t see it happening. At least, not as it is regularly scheduled. Having said that, I didn’t think the NBA season had a snowball’s chance at a successful reboot but they’ve done everything but actually start playing at this point. Don’t get me wrong, I really do hope that America gets it together and sports can resume. I want to see my Kansas City Chiefs defend their crown. I want to see Patrick Mahomes’ rocket arm and his newly paid swagger to match. But I won’t hold my breath.

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