On Thursday, Bills receiver Cole Beasley unfairly assailed the NFL Players Association for agreeing to rules that give vaccinated players far more freedom in 2021 than players who refuse to get vaccinated. On Friday, Beasley posted a lengthy statement explaining his position on social media. The entire comment appears below.
“Everyone -- Hi, I’m Cole Beasley and I’m not vaccinated! I will be outside doing what I do. I’ll be out in the public. If your scared of me then steer clear, or get vaccinated. Point. Blank. Period. I may die of covid, but I’d rather die actually living. I have family members whose days are numbered. If they want to come see me and stay at my house then they are coming regardless of protocol. I don’t play for the money anymore. My family has been taken care of. Fine me if you want. My way of living and my values are more important to me than a dollar. I love my teammates and enjoy playing ball because all the outside bs goes out the window in these moments. I just want to win the Super Bowl and enjoy these relationships that will be created along the way.
“I’m not going to take meds for a leg that isn’t broken. I’d rather take my chances with Covid and build up my immunity that way. Eat better. Drink water. Exercise and do what I think is necessary to be a healthy individual. That is MY CHOICE based on MY experiences and what I think is best. I’ll play for free this year to live life how I’ve lived it from day one. If I’m forced into retirement, so be it. I’ve enjoyed the times I’ve had. I’ll get to live freely with my wife, kids, and extended family forever. We’d get to enjoy the times that we missed from the sacrifices we’ve had to make just so I could play this wonderful game. So either way, it’s a win/win.
“That’s where I stand. Thank you for everyone who has been supportive throughout this process. A lot of other NFL players hold my position as well but aren’t in the right place in their careers to be so outspoken. I feel for you and I’m hoping I’m doing my part to represent you guys well.”
Beasley seems to be saying that he’ll defy the NFL’s rules regarding unvaccinated players, even if he’s repeatedly fined for it. Even if he ultimately has to give up his full $4.7 million salary over it.
But he complied with the restrictions last year, without complaint. This year, he’s only complaining because players who have chosen to get vaccinated won’t have to comply with those restrictions. Basically, Beasley wants the league to declare the pandemic over and to remove all rules, vaccination or not.
Along the way, Beasley cites no plausible reason for not being vaccinated. “I’m not going to take meds for a leg that isn’t broken” makes no sense. If he could take a pill or a shot that would prevent all football injuries, HE WOULD. And he wouldn’t give a second thought to the possibility of side effects, long-term consequences, Bill Gates’ microchips, or magnetic crystals.
In a separate tweet, Beasley comes off not only as anti-vaccine but also anti-science: “Everybody is so all in on science now more than I have ever seen. What happen [sic] to God’s will?”
As I recently observed on Twitter, it’s always required courage to speak truth to power. It currently requires even more courage to speak truth to stupid. And, Cole, quite frankly, you are becoming irredeemably stupid.
It was and is God’s will to allow humans to use their unique talents to cure diseases, to mend broken bones, to develop surgical methodologies, like the one Beasley had in 2019 to repair a core muscle injury. Science is the manifestation of God giving humans the power to prolong lives, to improve lives, to save lives through the development and application of our intellectual talents.
The fact that Beasley so fervently clings to his anti-vaccine beliefs that he overlooks the clear connection between getting the vaccine and advancing the competitive interests of his team shows how toxic and dangerous our current climate has become. For whatever reason, millions have become blindly committed to blurring the line between opinion and fact. It’s gotten so bad that many who see the light have opted to tiptoe around those who choose to flail in algorithm-enforced darkness, clinging to the supposedly inalienable right to f--k up their own lives at the expense of others.
The tiptoeing should end. The truth needs to be spoken. And the truth for Beasley and the Bills is that, unless he dials it down and either gets vaccinated (highly unlikely) or submits to the COVID protocols for 2021 (less unlikely), Beasley will create a potential distraction for a franchise that doesn’t need any as it tries to close the very real gap between itself and the Kansas City Chiefs.
