On Friday, New York Jets’ safety, Jamal Adams, sent out a tweet. It immediately set social media on fire.
He said that he doesn’t want to play without fans in the seats, which many athletes, regardless of sports, would tend to agree with.
But what he further added was that fans should decide for themselves if they want to be in attendance. Saying they should sign a waiver and wear face coverings.
Not having fans in stadiums would be beyond wack. Let fans decide if they want to show up & support.
Have them sign a waiver, & require masks!— Jamal Adams (@Prez) July 10, 2020
While many wasted no time to villainize Adams, but maybe, just maybe he has a point.
Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic is something that no-one has ever seen before. But as things are starting to open back up, like malls, nail salons, barbershops, etc., people are being allowed to make their own choices whether they want to go or not. Of course, face coverings and social distancing guidelines are in place and enforced. If you can decide to go get a haircut or buy a new pair of sneakers, you should be able to decide if you want to attend a sporting event, in this case, a football game.
Sports have played a pivotal role in the country getting back to normal many times before. After World War II, as well as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, sports got going again and the country began to get back to living life. A new different life, the new normal, but life.
While the pandemic is a different thing altogether, it should be a person’s choice. Knowing all the risks and deciding to attend a game should be each individual’s prerogative.
While some teams have announced no fans at games, others, most recently the Jacksonville Jaguars, have announced 25 percent of normal capacity limits, other teams have yet to make any announcement. It will likely be a state by state, city-by-city mandated maximum. One of the latest things to be ‘banned’ by all sports is the jersey swap at the end of games, which has become a great thing to see. For instance, last season, when Titans rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown swapping jerseys with his idol and the reason he wears No. 11, Julio Jones, after the Titans victory over the Falcons, was almost better than the game that preceded it. Or Bills running back Devin Singletary swapping with his idol Adrian Peterson.
That has become a staple across sports.
Many times athlete’s social media posts have to be taken with a grain of salt. Other times, rightfully so or not as in the cases of Drew Brees and Desean Jackson they are rung through the wringer after they are pressed to make a statement on a particular matter.
While yes when you first see Jamal Adams tweet, you may think ‘wow, what is he thinking?’ But if you take a moment and think about it in a different context you realize, though maybe not worded correctly, he has a valid point.
If sports are starting up with precautions and guidelines in place, the fans should, in turn, be able to attend them with similar precautions and guidelines in place.
