Pete Fined $100K For Mask Violations

[RiverDog]

I was going to say something these past few weeks but was reluctant as I didn't want to be seen as attacking or nit picking Pete:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/299 ... compliance

When Pete wants to say something to an official, the first thing he does is pull down his mask, and of course, that's the situation a person is at most risk of spreading an infection is when they are yelling, singing, coughing, etc. It could be an unconscious habit, as under normal circumstances, he'll pull down the mike on his head set or take his headset off altogether, and the motion of pulling down his mask is a natural association with that habit. But since he's been doing it in each of the first two games, you'd think that someone would have brought it to his attention before now. Does he realize what he's doing?

In any event, if they are to have a successful season under these conditions, the league has to get tough on compliance with their protocols, and for them to have any credibility, enforcement has to start with the guys at the top.

[Uppercut]

Good for Pete. They all get daily tests no Covid. Get 25 k fans back too

[TriCitySam]

I assume Payton and Gruden fined as well- they’re no keeping theirs up.

[RiverDog]

Good for Pete. They all get daily tests no Covid. Get 25 k fans back too

Not good enough. False negatives can occur up to 30% of the time in some cases. It's not clear how long it takes to get test results back or if a person can be infected but not yet detectable. A mask is the best defense against spreading the disease.

Pete knows the drill. He and all the others need to get used to "the new normal" as they're going to have to do it for the entire season. They're no different than the clerk in a grocery store or the server at a restaurant that has to do it or else risk losing their job.

If they can do it safely, I'd like to see more fans in attendance, too. Some teams already have. But with the cooler weather, people retreating to indoor venues, kids going back to school, and the onset of the flu season, we could have another wave of infections.

In any event, games with the kinds of restrictions they've placed aren't for me. Unless I can be in a jam packed crowd busting out my ear drums with a carnival-like atmosphere before, during, and after the game, it's not worth it to me to plop down several hundred bucks.

[jshawaii22]

For Pete, it goes to clarity with his voice speaking through the mask. The mask will absolutely change the characteristics of your voice depending on the materials that make up the mask. I have trouble hearing what drive-through kids, bank tellers, grocery clerks and others are saying with the mask on. The mask can both cut the high frequencies down (which is where the clarity of your voice is) and/or the overall volume. At 70... he probably doesn't have the voice anymore to overcome this issue and he can tell that players/other coaches/refs can't hear or not understand him. He feels is a uncompetitive situation for him.

This mask requirement is therefore not fair for him as the head coach and his decision to not wear the mask is not a defiant move but one to be able to coach.

[RiverDog]

For Pete, it goes to clarity with his voice speaking through the mask. The mask will absolutely change the characteristics of your voice depending on the materials that make up the mask. I have trouble hearing what drive-through kids, bank tellers, grocery clerks and others are saying with the mask on. The mask can both cut the high frequencies down (which is where the clarity of your voice is) and/or the overall volume. At 70... he probably doesn't have the voice anymore to overcome this issue and he can tell that players/other coaches/refs can't hear or not understand him. He feels is a uncompetitive situation for him.

This mask requirement is therefore not fair for him as the head coach and his decision to not wear the mask is not a defiant move but one to be able to coach.

Man, this is why I am glad I'm retired as if I were still working, I'd have to fight with people over arguments like this one. Part of my job would be to get people to adhere to the rules. Pete was pulling down his mask and yelling at officials within a few feet from him. Do you realize how much further water droplets can travel when a person is yelling, singing, etc?

The Seahawks, along with all the other NFL teams, have been approved to hold their games by virtue of a business plan submitted to local health department authorities just like my barber had to submit an approved plan before he could open for business. King County is currently in Phase 2, which prohibits contact sports so the Seahawks are getting an exemption based on their plan. That plan undoubtedly states that coaches, officials, and staff would wear masks. Additionally, for the PR sensitive NFL, having a highly paid head coach defying the rules is not a face they want to show the public. Our nation has struggled to contain the virus arguably because not enough of us are wearing masks. Can you imagine the captions in the pictures the press would use if the following day had Pete tested positive? Millions of people across the nation are being asked to adjust their behavior and mask up. Pete is no different than the rest of us poor slobs.

Besides, there's no way you can quantify clarity of voice. Nor would you want to make an exception that if a coach is over a certain age that they don't have to comply. The rule has to apply to everyone, the only exception being if there were a medical condition verified by a physician, and even then they'd probably have to wear a face shield or some other alternative. Pete and his players and coaches are going to have to adjust.

I see where Sean Payton and Jon Gruden were fined $100k for their non compliance on MNF, and the league is saying that the fines will increase dramatically if they don't get the message.

[NorthHawk]

Something that was mentioned on PFT was that the agreement with the NFL was to have coaches wear
the masks and they might be risking permission to play in Seattle if they violate that agreement. If that
is in fact the case, it has to be presented as such to the coaching staff so they know it isn't just money
that's at risk.

[c_hawkbob]

Something that was mentioned on PFT was that the agreement with the NFL was to have coaches wear
the masks and they might be risking permission to play in Seattle if they violate that agreement. If that
is in fact the case, it has to be presented as such to the coaching staff so they know it isn't just money
that's at risk.

Agreement between the NFL and who?

[RiverDog]

Something that was mentioned on PFT was that the agreement with the NFL was to have coaches wear
the masks and they might be risking permission to play in Seattle if they violate that agreement. If that
is in fact the case, it has to be presented as such to the coaching staff so they know it isn't just money
that's at risk.

Agreement between the NFL and who?

The agreement would have to be with the individual states and/or counties where the games take place. The federal government, as our POTUS has come to find out, does not have jurisdiction over the states in this matter.

Washington
(Seattle Seahawks)
Most recent projection (June 5): Gov. Jay Inslee announced that professional sports can resume in Washington, provided certain benchmarks are met. Provided they meet the guidelines, teams will be allowed to resume play regardless of the reopening phase their respective counties are in.

Here are the guidelines:

Following agreed-upon “league-wide and team-specific ‘return to play’ safety plans”

Having that league-wide plan approved by either the player’s union or the association representing players

Reporting the target date for resuming practice and play to respective county health departments

Keeping games spectator free

It’s worth noting that Washington is part of the Western States Pact, a joint effort with officials in Colorado, California, Nevada and Oregon to navigate reopening under coronavirus restrictions.

https://sports.yahoo.com/where-every-st ... 51835.html

The operative phrase is the first guideline: Following agreed-upon “league-wide and team-specific ‘return to play’ safety plans”. That plan almost certainly involves coaches, officials, and staff wearing their masks.

And it's not just about the games. The state has the authority to shut down the Seahawks as a business entirely, although it probably wouldn't be a good move for a Governor that is up for re-election within the next 6 weeks.

[RiverDog]

Here's the article that I think North Hawk was talking about, and according to the article, the owners have the authority to change the rule, so perhaps it's not part of the plan approved by various state governments:

...the owners ultimately have the power to change the rule. If they believe that the mask requirement represents a redundancy that isn’t necessary given the frequency of testing, they can vote to overturn it.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... artner=MSN

But that would seem to conflict with the following article that indicates that the player's union have agreed to the plan and as such, the owners would need their consent to change it:

The real test for teams could come well into the season — if the NFL makes it that far. As such, it will be important for clubs to be particularly detailed when it comes to safety protocols. That rings especially true on gamedays, when close contact between teams cannot be avoided.

To that end, every team will now be charged with submitting additional details regarding gameday protocols and travel information to the NFLPA, which must review and approve all of those plans before September’s Week 1.

https://sports.yahoo.com/source-nflpa-a ... 48842.html

[RiverDog]

And finally, there's this:

Masks are required for all team and league personnel, players included, while they are traveling to and from games. They also are required inside all team facilities with the exception of practices and workouts.

During games, all coaches and staff members in the bench area are required to wear masks. As for the players, it depends.

According to ESPN, the NFL made "a strong recommendation" but did not issue a league-wide requirement for players on the sidelines to wear masks during games. However, everybody on the sidelines of games at the 49ers' Levi's Stadium and the Bills' stadium must wear masks, players included, because of local regulations.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/new ... ydah#Masks

[jshawaii22]

All those rules and agreements the NFL and teams and/or cities have in place are fine. Pete should of had his mask on. By the way, since those 'rules' were agreed to much has changed in the world, including the daily testing regiment that the NFL has in place. If everyone in the building (players, coaches, tech workers, stadium staff) have all been tested daily and tested and tested negative, it really shows exactly how far we've come in a couple of months and why the NFL has not had ONE positive test since the league started up.

Put your mask on Pete... sure, why not. For those of us that have never been tested, or just have a temperature check I can certainly see how they work exactly as the CDC has said and why it's not a good thing to ignore it. 3.4% of us are carriers, most without knowing it.

[RiverDog]

All those rules and agreements the NFL and teams and/or cities have in place are fine. Pete should of had his mask on. By the way, since those 'rules' were agreed to much has changed in the world, including the daily testing regiment that the NFL has in place. If everyone in the building (players, coaches, tech workers, stadium staff) have all been tested daily and tested and tested negative, it really shows exactly how far we've come in a couple of months and why the NFL has not had ONE positive test since the league started up.

Put your mask on Pete... sure, why not. For those of us that have never been tested, or just have a temperature check I can certainly see how they work exactly as the CDC has said and why it's not a good thing to ignore it. 3.4% of us are carriers, most without knowing it.

Agreed.

And in defense of Pete, it seems out of character for him to willingly defy the mask policy. Everything we've heard from him indicates that he's very sensitive to the crisis. I honestly think it's a conditioned response for him to pull down his mask and yell at the refs as if it were his headphones he was pulling off. Hard to teach old dogs new tricks. But then again, we've all had to get used to it.

[jshawaii22]

RD, right after the game, before Pete must of realized he needed to be Politically Correct in everything he says about the mask, he told one of the reporters that he was trying to talk to one of the side-line refs and they couldn't understand him through his mask. This was his trigger, right or wrong and it expanded to the the point he was pretty much dropping it mid-way in the second qtr.

[RiverDog]

RD, right after the game, before Pete must of realized he needed to be Politically Correct in everything he says about the mask, he told one of the reporters that he was trying to talk to one of the side-line refs and they couldn't understand him through his mask. This was his trigger, right or wrong and it expanded to the the point he was pretty much dropping it mid-way in the second qtr.

Not sure if I buy that, but it's possible. You have to remember that there weren't any fans in the stands so verbal communications had to have been a lot better than they would have had the 12th man been present. There were times when Pete was standing just a few feet in front of a ref and was flat out yelling at them so at least in those situations, I have a hard time believing that he was having a hard time being understood. Besides, half the time refs try to tune out what coaches and players on the sidelines are saying to them.

But whatever the reason was, I don't believe it was a conscious act.

[trents]

I'm a little shocked at the size of the fine but I guess the NFL wanted to send a strong message to the franchises to underscore how serious they need to take this. The whole season could go up in smoke if there were COVID outbreaks. College football is already out on a limb and the NFL has much less leeway for rescheduling games.

[Aseahawkfan]

Their entire season and business depends on no serious coronavirus outbreaks and everyone adhering to the rules. So this is no surprise.

[RiverDog]

I'm a little shocked at the size of the fine but I guess the NFL wanted to send a strong message to the franchises to underscore how serious they need to take this. The whole season could go up in smoke if there were COVID outbreaks. College football is already out on a limb and the NFL has much less leeway for rescheduling games.

Pete makes $7M a year. A $100K fine represents less than 1.5% of his annual salary. That's the equivalent of a 4 days suspension w/o pay based on a 250 day work year for your average Joe.

But the working stiff is going to miss that 1.5% a lot more than Pete will.