DeAndre Hopkins Hints Retirement Due To 'Unfair' NFL's New COVID-19 Policy: What Does League's Memo State?

By Alexandria Reeves

DeAndre Hopkins is not impressed by the new rules set by NFL amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Football League released a memo to all its 32 teams regarding its new COVID-19 protocols. The new document mainly announced that it would not push through the season for the teams whose unvaccinated players contracted the virus.

This will cause an affected team to suffer from an immediate loss in the whole season. The team's players will not receive their weekly salary once the game is forfeited, as well.

As a result, Hopkins and other players expressed their disappointment toward NFL's "unfair" decision.

In his since-deleted tweet, the 29-year-old wide receiver threatened to resign following the announcement of the protocols.

"Never thought I would say this. But being put in a position to hurt my team because I don't want to partake in the vaccine is making me question my future in the NFL," he wrote, as quoted by USA Today.

It remains unknown whether Hopkins will get his vaccine because of this. It is worth noting, however, that the League aims to push everyone to get vaccinated through these penalties. Still, it did not directly require them to receive the vaccine.

Other NFL Players React To Memo

Hopkins is not the only NFL player to react to the memo and disapprove of the use of vaccines.

New England Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon said, "The NFLPA f-- sucks."

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette also firmly stated that he does not want to receive the vaccine.

Meanwhile, even DJ Reed refused to get the vaccine because of the unknown long-term effects.

"I didn't want to get the vaccine. We don't know the long term effects. If you have the vaccine you can still catch COVID. The NFL & NFLPA made getting the vaccine a competitive advantage. I just got my vaccine because I don't want to hinder my team, idk how I feel about that," he explained.

Ever since the pandemic began, the NFL has been bombarded with COVID-19 cases.

Earlier this year, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirmed that several NFL players have tested positive for COVID-19. They expect the surge though, as the league's chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said that they would have positive cases once the league returns as "football and physical distancing are not compatible."