The NFL is putting its foot down on coaches who won’t wear masks on the sideline during games.
In a league memo obtained Wednesday by ESPN, teams were issued a strong warning that failure to comply with the mask mandate could result in suspensions and the forfeiture of draft picks as punishment. It was the second time this month the NFL had to warn coaches to comply with coronavirus-related protocols.
The strongly worded memo, which was sent to all coaches, general managers and team executives, explicitly states that the NFL will “address lack of compliance with accountability measures that may include… suspensions and/or forfeiture of draft picks.”
Las Vegas’ Jon Gruden, New Orleans’ Sean Payton, Denver’s Vic Fangio, Seattle’s Pete Carroll and San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan have all already been fined $100,000 each — and their teams were fined $250,000 — for not wearing masks on the sideline during games. Ravens coach John Harbaugh put himself at risk of a fine with an unmasked tirade at a referee during Monday’s game against the Chiefs.
Meanwhile, the NFL was investigating the Raiders for unauthorized locker room access on Sunday, and the team is also under fire after several players were shown at a event without masks.