Last Updated: 10/07/20 10:30pm
The man expected to protect Tom Brady’s blind side said he doesn’t feel safe playing football right now.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers left tackle Donovan Smith wrote Friday on Instagram that “risking my health, as well as my family’s health, does not seem like a risk worth taking” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Smith, 27, is expecting the birth of his first child in three weeks.
“I can’t help but think about how will I be able to go to work and take proper precautions around 80+ people everyday and then go home to be with my newborn daughter,” he wrote.
“How can a sport that requires physical contact on every snap and transferal of all types of bodily fluid EVERY SINGLE PLAY practice safe social distancing? How can I make sure that I don’t bring COVID-19 back to my household?”
View this post on Instagram@nfl @nflpa To whom it may concern: With the start of the 2020 NFL season fast approaching, many thoughts and questions roam my mind as I’m sure it does for many of my fellow “coworkers” across the league. The unfortunate events of the COVID-19 pandemic have put a halt to a lot of things. Football is not one. To continue discussing the many UNKNOWNS do not give me the comfort. Risking my health as well as my family’s health does not seem like a risk worth taking. With my first child due in 3 weeks, I can’t help but think about how will I be able to go to work and take proper precautions around 80+ people everyday to then go home to be with my newborn daughter. How can a sport that requires physical contact on every snap and transferral of all types of bodily fluid EVERY SINGLE PLAY practice safe social distancing? How can I make sure that I don’t bring COVID-19 back to my household? Yes, we can get tested everyday, but if it takes 24 hours to get my results, how can I know each day that I am not spreading this virus or contracting it? The reoccurring issue here is how? There are too many “hows” that have yet to be answered to ease player concerns and ensure the safety of not only myself, but also my family. I just can’t imagine how the game will be the same during these unprecedented times. Now to hear that 35% of my paycheck may be withheld while we are out sacrificing our health and wellness for the joy and entertainment of everyone else who will be safe at home in front of their TVs? Something isn’t right here. That should at LEAST warrant a pay raise due to the risk, not a cut. I am not a lab rat or guinea pig to test theories on. I am a man, a son, brother, soon to be father, and I deserve to be safe at work.
A post shared by Donovan Smith (@dsmith_76) on
A second-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2015 NFL Draft, Smith started 79 of a possible 80 games through his first five NFL seasons.
NFL players are scheduled to report to training camps starting July 28. The state of Florida has seen a surge of new cases in recent weeks, with more than 244,000 positive cases and 4,100 deaths as of Friday morning.
Smith also responded to reports that the NFL has proposed putting 35 per cent of player salaries into an escrow account to help manage costs during the 2020 season.
“Now to hear that 35 per cent of my paycheck may be withheld while we are out sacrificing our health and wellness for the joy and entertainment of everyone else who will be safe at home in front of their TVs? Something isn’t right here,” he wrote.
“That should at LEAST warrant a pay raise due to the risk, not a cut. I am not a lab rat or guinea pig to test theories on. I am a man, a son, brother, soon to be father, and I deserve to be safe at work.”
3:41
Former NFL players react to proposed game-day protocols and agree that the players must do what they are told if they want the NFL season to go ahead
Smith stopped short of saying he would refuse to play. The NFL and NFLPA reportedly are negotiating an opt-out option for players.
The Buccaneers are scheduled to open the 2020 season on Sept. 13 at their NFC South rival New Orleans Saints.
read the full story about Bucs OL questions risk of playing amid pandemic
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