Jon Gruden not wearing a mask is irresponsible and wrong

Head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders just doesn’t understand the concept of wearing a mask during a global pandemic.

The NFL has stressed confidence in their ability to run the 2020 regular-season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. But this week, the league went through a variety of bumps in the road, including the Tennessee Titans’ outbreak and quarterbacks Cam Newton and Jordan Ta’amu testing positive for COVID-19. This is why the NFL cracked down on head coaches who didn’t wear their face masks effectively during contests, one of them being Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Even though Gruden was fined $100,000 for not wearing a facial covering a couple of weeks ago, he continued to irresponsibly flout the league’s protocol during Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

The Raiders have been in trouble for violating COVID-19 protocols

This is shocking behavior from Gruden, who claimed following the team’s Week 2 win over the New Orleans Saints that he had previously contracted COVID-19. That was a stunning revelation, especially considering that Gruden had his face mask down for the majority of that game.

Gruden hasn’t been the lone rebel on the Raiders team when it comes to violating the NFL’s health protocol. The Raiders were fined $50,000 for allowing an non-credentialed employee into the team’s locker room following their victory over the Saints. Then, quarterback Derek Carr and several other players were seen mask-less at an indoor fundraiser for tight end Darren Waller’s foundation, talking with attendees who also didn’t wear masks.

On Sunday morning before the Raiders’ game against the Bills, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that the organization is likely to lose at least one draft selection for repeatedly violating the league’s COVID-19 protocol. This stems from La Canfora’s report that all coaches, general managers and owners will have to participate in a mandatory conference call on Monday to discuss the strict penalties for repeat violators.

Based off Gruden’s disregard for safety during the Week 4 contest, losing a draft pick is going to become a guaranteed certainty. With the league wanting to prevent further outbreaks from here on out, taking away draft selections is perhaps the best way to ensure that coaches like Gruden will finally wear their mask throughout a game. It’s not that hard, the mask isn’t made only to protect you, but to protect others.

Just wear one!