Three days ago, the NFL handed out three-game suspensions to the three Buccaneers players who were found to have misrepresented their vaccination status. Some think that the players, and specifically receiver Antjonio Brown, should have gotten a more serious punishment.
Earlier today, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said that the Brown suspension “angered many rival coaches and executives.” They thought it was too lenient.
In one way, it definitely was. To the extent that the issue fell under the Personal Conduct Policy (the COVID protocol is silent on the issue), Brown becomes a repeat offender. Last year, he received an eight-game suspension after multiple off-field issues. So why wouldn’t he get more than the other players, neither of whom have prior conduct policy punishments?
We’ve posed this question to the league, which did not respond to three separate inquiries, which were sent on Friday, on Saturday, and earlier today.