Ron Rivera hopes players will consider his immune deficiency and get vaccinated

Two players were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list for the Washington football team today, which has drawn renewed attention to Washington’s status as a team with the most unvaccinated players in the NFL.

Washington coach Ron Rivera, who was treated for cancer last year, is hoping players will consider his immune system to be weakened when they decide to get the shot.

“I think just stating that I’m immunodeficient is hopefully part of their conversation and part of their thinking process,” Rivera said in comments circulated by the team. “Again, it’s a personal decision, and we’re just hoping we can get more guys vaccinated.”

Rivera said the vaccine will be available to players tomorrow and he hopes some will get it.

“We’ll see tomorrow,” Rivera said. “Tomorrow we hope to get other guys vaccinated. We will see. It is a difficult subject. I tried to approach it with a lot of our players and I spoke with a lot of our guys who didn’t. It’s a personal thing, but I hope we can influence it. With a bit of luck.”

Rivera has also tried to make players understand the competitive disadvantage faced by teams with more unvaccinated players, as the NFL has more stringent protocols for isolating unvaccinated players who have been exposed to someone testing positive for COVID- 19.

“And that’s part of the problem,” Rivera said. “I mean, to be very honest, it’s going to make it difficult and that’s what we need to be aware of. It makes it difficult for everyone to work together. Difficult for us as coaches with our evaluations and the scouts. It will be difficult for the player because having free time, not really having the opportunity to work, to develop, to grow and to learn, that is the downfall and the downside. I told our guys about it. I said, “You know, here’s the scenario what if: what if it was Sunday match day for the opener?” Even if it’s just contact tracing for some of them, it’s been five days. So if this is the opener, imagine this, the opener against Los Angeles, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, playing Thursday night against the Giants. These guys would not be eligible. So for me that brings the reality of what the rules are and I hope that helps. But again, these young men have to make their decisions.

It is ultimately the decision of the players. But there is no doubt that the right decision is to get vaccinated.